Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

():  As a proud Victorian, it is a mixture of sadness, anger and frustration that I feel as I stand here and state one simple fact: the state of Victoria is broken. An old saying about democracy is that the government you elect is the government you deserve, but Victorians deserve much better than this. Victoria is in the middle of a social and economic crisis, and Labor is the guilty party that put us there. When you've been in government for 22 out of the last 26 years, you can't blame anyone else for the crisis we face in every corner of our state. The lawlessness and the violence are not limited to Melbourne. Premier Jacinta Allan has been there every step of the way, and, as a cabinet minister and now Premier, the buck stops in her office.

Every baby born in Victoria today starts their life with a $30,000 debt thanks to the Victorian Labor Party. Every major project in Melbourne today has blown out in cost, and Victorian taxpayers are picking up the bill for the CFMEU rorts and Labor's incompetence. Future generations will pay the price for Labor's failures in the once-great state of Victoria. Victorians deserve better. The Labor Party gave Victoria the most lockdowns in the world during COVID, against the advice of the Australian Chief Medical Officer. The Labor Party has allowed corruption to run wild on building sites and racked up a massive debt for future generations to pay. The Labor Party has introduced new taxes which target everyday Victorians, adding to the cost of living and making it impossible for people to get ahead. The Labor Party has divided Victorians based on race and failed to maintain social cohesion. The Labor Party has cut funding to regional roads, leaving us to navigate a minefield of potholes which contribute to car crashes and extra costs for motorists. The Labor Party has waged war on our traditional industries like forestry, fishing, farming and mining, which has cost thousands of jobs across the state. Worst of all, the Labor Party has failed to keep Victorians safe in their homes and on their streets. Victorians deserve better.

Everyone knows Victoria has a major crime problem—everyone except the Premier. The Premier has told the media, 'Melbourne's CBD is safe.' But just this month we saw graphic footage of a 36-year-old woman who was stabbed near the intersection of Little Bourke and Spencer Streets at 7.40 in the morning. The alleged offender was out on bail. Almost every day there is another report of a home invasion or machete attack, often occurring in broad daylight in our shopping centres or on our streets. Victorians deserve better. After the men and women in blue faced another weekend of violent street protests, Victorian police commander Wayne Cheeseman said what everyone knows—what everyone knows except the Premier, of course—when he said, 'I think Melbourne has had a gutful.' Even the new chief commissioner, Mike Bush, can see what the Premier refuses to acknowledge. He said:

We have a crime problem here in Victoria. The levels of offending we are seeing in our community are entirely unacceptable.

Victorians deserve better. Victorians are living with the consequences of Labor's weak response to crime, with 638,640 crimes reported in the year to June. That's one every 49.4 seconds—an increase of 16 per cent.

The men and women in uniform who serve our community deserve better than the weak bail laws, the soft magistrates and pathetic responses by an out-of-touch Premier and a Labor government that has run out of ideas. I have small-business owners in my electorate who are planning to close their shops because they can't afford to remain open, while shoplifters take whatever they want because they know they will just get a slap on the wrist. Victorians deserve better.

As a born optimist, I believe there's nothing wrong with Victoria that a good government can't fix. Victorians will have an opportunity in November next year to take back control of their state and get the government they deserve. They need a government which is focused on maintaining law and order. They need a government which is focused on keeping people safe. They need a government which is focused on reducing the cost of living and delivering the infrastructure and services we need. Victorians deserve better than the Victorian Labor Party.

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