Book 8 - Parliament of Victoria

GOVERNMENT: ELECTION COMMITMENTS
1602 COUNCIL Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Mr DRUM — The previous Labor government
thought it might give the sector time to adjust. In order
to keep the program going the state government
continued funding until 30 June this year. Members of
the opposition should acknowledge that at that stage the
extension was only for 12 months.
Upon coming to government the coalition further
extended this program until the end of this calendar
year. The state government cannot be expected to fund
areas of federal government responsibility. In the words
of the former Treasurer, Mr John Lenders, it is about
time some members of the Labor Party in this house
picked up the phone and rang their Labor Party
colleagues. Kate Ellis, the federal Minister for
Employment Participation and Childcare, is the
responsible minister. She has not bothered returning
correspondence from our Minister for Children and
Early Childhood Development, so why is it that the
members of the Labor Party in this house, especially
Jenny Mikakos, will not pick up the phone and call
their Canberra colleagues, Labor to Labor, like we were
instructed to do, and get this funding reinstated?
GOVERNMENT: ELECTION
COMMITMENTS
Debate resumed from 6 April; motion of
Mr VINEY (Eastern Victoria):
That this house congratulates the Liberal-National coalition
parties on their election to government and calls on the
Leader of the Government to —
(1) give a commitment to the house that the government
will honour all of its election commitments in full;
(2) make available to the house the full cost of each election
commitment made by the coalition as advised by the
Department of Treasury and Finance; and
(3) advise the house the means by which these costs will be
met including:
(a) any proposed revenue-raising measures;
(b) any program and service cuts.
Ms BROAD (Northern Victoria) — Given the time
that has elapsed since the house last considered this
question it is worth taking a moment to remind
members of the full text of the motion that is now back
before the house. The motion moved by Mr Viney is:
That this house congratulates the Liberal-National coalition
parties on their election to government and calls on the
Leader of the Government to —
(1) give a commitment to the house that the government
will honour all of its election commitments in full;
(2) make available to the house the full cost of each election
commitment made by the coalition as advised by the
Department of Treasury and Finance; and
(3) advise the house the means by which these costs will be
met including:
(a) any proposed revenue-raising measures;
(b) any program and service cuts.
That was moved on 6 April 2011 prior to the state
budget. Members of the Labor opposition acknowledge
in this motion that we accept that the Liberal-Nationals
coalition is now in government, and it is our job to hold
the government to account for the commitments it
made to all Victorians at last year’s election. It is a task
that we have taken up with alacrity.
We believe the government needs to deliver on and
honour all its election commitments in full. Members
may recall that at the time of the state election the
Liberal and National parties refused to make available
to Victorians the costings by the Department of
Treasury and Finance. The Liberal and National parties
instead obtained costings from a firm with which they
were on very good terms and declined to make the
details of those costings available either.
Following the election the Liberal-Nationals coalition
government declined to make available the costings that
Treasury and Finance always prepares in advance of an
election which outline the cost of implementing the
policies taken to the election by the parties. To that end
Victorians were well and truly in the dark as to what the
costings revealed. For that reason the Labor opposition,
through this motion, calls for the government, in the
interests of openness, transparency and accountability
to the Parliament and to Victorians, to bring forward
that information, which to this day the Liberal and
National parties refuse to make available. In speaking
to the motion moved by Mr Viney I reiterate calls from
the Labor opposition for that information to be made
available to the Parliament and to all Victorians.
The motion also requires the Liberal-Nationals
coalition government to advise the house of the means
by which the costs of implementing its election
commitments will be met, including proposed
revenue-raising measures and any program and service
cuts.
It is challenging indeed to assess that information
against the costings of election commitments when the
government continues to refuse to make that
information available. Nonetheless, since the election
some things have become clear regardless of the fact
that the government refuses to make that information