Premier Jacinta Allan and Opposition Leader Jess Wilson on the 10 questions Victoria wants answered
Premier Jacinta Allan and Opposition Leader Jess Wilson tackle 10 crucial questions as they battle to win over voters to secure Victoria’s top job.
Victorians go to the polls to elect the next state government in a year.
As the state counts down to the election, the Herald Sun has conducted two major interviews with the women who say they are best to be Premier, Labor leader Jacinta Allan and new Liberal challenger Jess Wilson.
As part of these interviews we asked both leaders the same 10 questions covering their achievements, regrets and their ambitions for everyday Victorians.
Here is what they had to say.
What is your greatest achievement since becoming Premier/coming to parliament?
Allan: There’s so much. I’m really proud of the work-from-home agenda that we’ve set, because it’s about having the policies and the settings that support families and working people where they are now and what they need for the future.
Wilson: Delivering outcomes for different communities.
What is your greatest regret since becoming Premier/Opposition leader?
Allan: Not enough hours in the day.
Wilson: Probably not thinking more about how you carve out family time.
Looking ahead over the next 12 months, what is the biggest challenge?
Allan: We’ve got a fire season ahead of us. So that’s something that I’m pretty occupied on. Living in one of the most high fire prone areas of the world, you’re always nervous. But this one, even though we’ve had a bit of late season rain, the subsoil is pretty dry. That’s the thing in the immediate period I’m most focused on.
Wilson: Putting forward an agenda that will win the next election.
Your top priority over the next 12 months?
Allan: Continuing to build and invest in an economy that works for working people and families, so cost of living, building for the future, homes, infrastructure, frontline services.
Wilson: Fixing the Victorian economy.
How do you defend the big spend on the Suburban Rail Loop?
Allan: We simply can’t afford not to build it. Cities around the world are building orbital rail. When the Metro tunnel opens, that will be a stunning example of why the Suburban Rail Loop is so important. Rail connects people and it gives us the space to build more homes.
Wilson: It’s completely unfunded.
What commitments can you give the public on Victoria’s debt, and how will you manage that?
Allan: We’ll continue to manage, as we have been doing, the budget responsibly, with discipline, and then in turn, understand the responsibility to invest in the frontline services and building for the future that our community needs.
Wilson: We will stabilise the debt and pay it back over time.
Do you have any specific targets?
Allan: We’ve set our fiscal strategy. And that includes reducing that share of debt, but it’s also about understanding, like we did in this year’s budget, that alongside having that operating surplus, it’s also what you do with the investment. And we chose to invest in real cost of living help and support for families and working people right now.
Wilson: We’re working through an economic framework.
Would you commit to investing the $8bn needed by the Alfred, Austin and Royal Melbourne Hospital?
Allan: I’m not here today to make any announcements about future capital projects, but if you look at this year’s budget, it had funding to open and build nine new hospitals. Why do you build hospital infrastructure? Well so you can treat more patients.
Wilson: We’re going to have a clear health agenda at the next election.
What more, if anything, could be done on crime?
Allan: The work of the violence reduction unit. Crime is preventable, not inevitable, and the violence reduction unit as a model has worked in London and Glasgow, and we will bring a Victorian violence reduction unit to work in the Victorian circumstance.
Wilson: We need to stop the catch and release bail.
Do you commit to remaining in parliament for another full term, win or lose?
Allan: Absolutely. Apart from the privilege of being Premier, I love being the member for Bendigo East. I’ve been doing it for 26 years.
Wilson: Absolutely.
Originally published as Premier Jacinta Allan and Opposition Leader Jess Wilson on the 10 questions Victoria wants answered
Ambulance Victoria loses $1m a day in staff pay dispute
