Meanwhile, in Victoria: budget date clash, ABCC won’t resonate, church a hit

Victoria buckles to the feds in the budget battle; ABCC won’t resonate here; it’s the cost of living, stupid.

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas has had to find a new date for his budget.

Victoria’s Treasurer Tim Pallas was left with some quick thinking to do with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull shifting the federal budget forward by a week, creating a clash with the Victorian budget on May 3.

Given the state budget would be lost in the slew of coverage of the federal budget, Mr Pallas emerged mid afternoon to confirm that Victoria had buckled to the feds in the battle of the budgets.

Announcing a Wednesday April 27 budget, Mr Pallas couldn’t resist a dig at the federal Coalition. “We have brought the budget forward to provide certainty for Victoria and ensure we are not caught up in the chaos and dysfunction of the Federal Government,” he said.

ABCC won’t resonate in Victoria

Malcolm Turnbull was pretty clear that the reinstatement of the Australian Building and Construction Commission would not be at the core of his election campaign.

Part of it, but not at the core.

Instead, it will be about who is best placed to run a transforming economy.

For reasons that are largely peculiar to Victoria, industrial relations issues do not tend to markedly influence voter sentiment.

Sure, IR can impact on the Liberal base, which for obvious reasons is stridently opposed to unions. However, Victorian swinging voters have tended to be more sophisticated about the way they have been influenced.

It’s the cost of living, stupid

Meanwhile in Victoria had a good chat recently to “someone who would know’’ and we were in furious agreement.

Regardless of the messaging adopted by the major parties, this federal election will be all about the cost of living.

The PM is arguing that it should be about trust as well as who is best placed to run the economy.

The subterranean appeal in the use of the word “trust’’ is that Turnbull is asking voters to determine whether Labor’s Bill Shorten will be too much of a risk.

It will be interesting to see how far both parties will go on the cost of living question.

Who will make it cheaper to live, Labor or Liberal?

The answer to that, in the short term, is neither.

The use (abuse) of “trust’’ is hardly new in Australian politics, with many campaigns littered with the five letter word.

The Liberal Party clearly believes, however, that it is on to something.

Star of the Sea a hit for murder victims

The rather majestic Star of the Sea Catholic Church in West Melbourne will be the scene for the farewell of slain Mafia lawyer Joe Acquaro on Wednesday.

It’s not the first time the church has been used to farewell victims of crime.

In 2003, arguably the victims of the worst gangland murders were buried after a funeral at Star of the Sea.

Jason Moran, a gangster’s gangster, and Pasquale Barbaro’s funerals were held at the church.

The two were shot dead by an unidentified gunman as they picked up Moran’s children from a football clinic at a suburban park nine days earlier.

On a happier note, acquitted gangland killer Mick Gatto’s son Damien was married there in 2008.