Fast-tracking gas, cutting red tape, unlocking super investment: Allan makes pitch to business

Gas projects will be fast-tracked, the number of business regulators halved, and the amount of waste that can be burnt to create energy doubled under the Allan government’s vision to boost the state economy.

Victoria will also turn to RNA technology to improve the state’s crops, and revive market-led proposals to get superannuation funds investing in housing and other key projects.

Premier Jacinta Allan and Treasurer Tim Pallas at a press conference on Tuesday.Credit: AFR

A new Premier’s Business Council – designed to improve communications between the state and the business community – will be established, and will include businessman Ahmed Fahour, AFL boss Andrew Dillon, billionaire Anthony Pratt and Lord Mayor Nick Reece.

On Tuesday, Premier Jacinta Allan unveiled the economic growth statement – first promised at the May budget – outlining how her government would seek to boost the private sector and encourage investment.

It includes policies aimed at reducing red tape, developing skills, and developing emerging industries such as advanced manufacturing, medical research and recycling.

Victoria will fast-track new gas projects through a facilitation program currently available to select housing and renewable projects.

It means all new potential projects – including extraction storage, transmission and importation – can accelerate planning permits to help “ensure reliable access to gas for Victorian businesses”.

Victoria has banned gas connections to newly built homes and is exploring whether to mandate that some household appliances must be replaced with electric alternatives when they reach their end of life. However, over the past 12 months, the government has shifted its rhetoric, indicating gas still has a place.

The pivot on gas comes after Allan has sought to unwind or alter several policies from the Daniel Andrews era over the past 12 months, including refusing a safe injecting room in the CBD and proceeding with a trial of pill testing or drug checking.

Renewable projects will also be further fast-tracked by being included in the statewide policy planning framework, which seeks to align the objectives of the state, regions and local authorities, and speed up approvals.

Victoria will double its waste-to-energy cap to 2 million tonnes a year to send a “clear policy signal” that it wants investment in such projects in the sector. The government wants to raise the cap to 2.5 million tonnes, but will consult further on this.

Last month, The Age revealed that two waste-to-energy projects in Victoria were being opposed by state and federal Labor MPs in their local areas, including Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio.

In a sign of the difficult operating environment for energy projects, Kawasaki Heavy Industries this week withdrew from a trial to create hydrogen from Victoria’s brown coal and ship it to Japan, blaming procurement delays.

Allan said Victoria would reduce the number of business regulators from 37 to 18 – the lowest of any jurisdiction – by 2030, starting with the construction and food sectors.

“Regulation should be a guard rail, not a stop sign – protections that look out for customers, not blockers to business,” she said.

“[With] initiatives in this statement and broader actions right across government, this change will save businesses [an] estimated $500 million over the next five years.

“It is a saving we’ll achieve by reducing double-up, speeding up and digitising application processes, and also removing unnecessary permits.”

The government will also seek to unlock market-led proposals, allowing the private sector to pitch ideas through “alternative and flexible pathways”, rather than tendering for government-led plans.

“This will unleash the creativity and capital of the private and superannuation sectors for major residential development and other projects,” the statement says.

Previously approved market-led proposals include the West Gate Tunnel, the Victoria Police Centre and the City-Link Tulla Widening project. Unsuccessful ideas include a private-sector bid for a Melbourne Airport rail link and a proposed upgrade of Southern Cross Station.

Treasurer Tim Pallas said the government had failed to provide flexible pathways for market-led proposals because they had been concerned about probity.

“How can we say to somebody who comes to us with a proposal that nobody else can participate in a claim on stable funds and resources?” he said.

“The simple answer to that is: if the government makes it as such, and if you have access to something that is unique to you. Access to land is one of those unique things, particularly at a time when the government is trying to facilitate more housing development.

“We will find ways to make these systems better, and ensure that there are clear systems of oversight to ensure that the integrity of the process is being maintained.”

Victoria’s recycled-first policy, under which reusable materials are prioritised for transport construction, will be expanded to other types of government projects.

A digitisation and artificial intelligence program will focus on replacing paper-based and outdated processes.

RNA technology – similar to the medical science used behind COVID-19 vaccines – will be developed to improve agriculture. There will be investment to explore its use to reduce methane from cattle, target pests and improve crops.

“We’re a world leader in med-tech when it comes to humans,” Allan said. “Now we’ve identified there’s an opportunity to take that even further.”

Opposition Leader John Pesutto said the initiatives were a “fraud on the Victorian people”, and dismiss the statement as a “glossy brochure” that would do nothing to boost the state’s economy.

“Manufacturing is facing land tax increases of over 300 per cent over recent years … we’ve seen the highest level of insolvencies,” he said. “The government’s done nothing actually to come to the aid of Victoria’s manufacturing sector.”

Fahour will chair the new business council. Other members will include NAB chief executive Andrew Irvine, Bunnings managing director Mike Schneider and Monash University vice chancellor Professor Sharon Pickering.

Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra said the growth statement was a significant step and provided clarity about the government’s priorities.

“Ultimately, it will be the private sector that will need to do the heavy lifting to drive growth, and the economic growth statement provides the framework of renewed engagement with the state,” he said.

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