Victorian taxpayer’s billed $100,000 for new Triple Zero Victoria logo

The $100,000 taxpayers were billed for a new Triple Zero Victoria logo “sheds some light” on the state’s financial plight, a top economist says.

The government says the $101,300 bill was the cheapest option for the new logo.

Victorian taxpayers were billed more than $100,000 to create a logo for the state’s new emergency call taking service, Triple Zero Victoria.

The Herald Sun can reveal the eye-watering price tag – which has been slammed as a “complete waste” of money” – was put to tender in September last year.

But the emergency services agency has claimed the final $101,300 bill was the cheapest option.

The state government last year announced it would disband the trouble-plagued Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority – known as ESTA – and replace it with a new statutory body called Triple Zero Victoria (TZV).

The “significant transformation” was needed to “improve governance, accountability and oversight”, the government said at the time.

Part of that rebrand involved the need to design a new logo that the community could recognise and resonate with.

Triple Zero Victoria has replaced the old ESTA system. Picture: Supplied

But former ANZ chief economist Saul Eslake said the costly rebranding exercise “sheds some light” on the state’s broader financial position.

According to the most recent budget, this year the Victorian government will spend $116bn – $98bn on operating expenses and $18bn on infrastructure.

By June next year, the state’s net debt will reach $185bn.

Mr Eslake said: “$103,000 out of total spending that is expected to be $116bn is one level less than a pimple on a pumpkin.”

“But given the Victorian government’s expected debt levels by the end of this financial year, you have to wonder why they would think it’s important to spend $103,000 in this way,” he said.

“How many other examples of this kind of spending are there?

“If they didn’t spend $100,000 on the logo, it wouldn’t make any difference. But $100,000 here, and $100,000 there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.”

Saul Eslake questioned why the Victorian government felt the need to $100,000 on the new logo given the debt levels.

Shadow Treasurer Brad Rowswell said the government should focus on guaranteeing that Victorians could get emergency assistance when they call for help.

“Labor’s $100,000 spend to redesign the Triple-Zero logo is a complete waste of taxpayers’ money,” he said.

“A new logo does nothing to get an emergency call for help answered sooner or an ambulance where it is needed on time.

“The Allan Labor government has forgotten what is important for Victorians. They cannot manage money, they cannot manage our emergency services and all Victorians are paying the price.”

A Triple Zero Victoria spokeswoman said a key recommendation from the 2022 Emergency Service Telecommunications Authority Capability and Service Review was to rebrand from ESTA and to ensure the community understood the new agency.

“A competitive tender process was undertaken and the selected tenderer was the cheapest,” she said.