Category Archives: Victorian politics

Dan and Dom: the two premiers leading a vibe shift in Australian politics

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Differences between Daniel Andrews and Dominic Perrottet are part of their successful relationship

Victoria and New South Wales’ premiers, Daniel Andrews and Dominic Perrottet, couldn’t be more different: one is a progressive from Labor’s socialist left faction and the other a conservative from the Liberal party’s right.

But together, they represent a political vibe shift – a sense that long-term ambitions for their states can be achieved, with cooperation paramount.

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‘No alternative’: Greens MPs call for the party’s Victorian convener to resign

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Newly elected convener Linda Gale co-authored a 2019 document described as ‘inconsistent with Greens values’

Two Victorian Greens MPs say there is “no alternative” but for the party’s recently elected state convener to resign after she refused to disavow past comments that have been labelled “transphobic”.

Linda Gale, a senior industrial officer at the National Tertiary Education Union, was elected on Saturday to fill a casual vacancy of state convener of the Victorian Greens.

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Encrypted messaging apps should be regulated to tackle extremism, Victorian inquiry hears

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Experts say spread of misinformation and use of encrypted services drives far-right extremists and racism

The federal government needs to take action against encrypted messaging apps like Telegram to curb the rise of far-right extremism, a Victorian inquiry has been told.

Dr Belinda Barnet, a media lecturer at Swinburne University, told a hearing that far-right extremists had initially been sharing hateful content on mainstream sites such as Facebook and Twitter but were increasingly being deplatformed.

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What will the teal wave mean for Victorian and NSW state elections?

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Swings at federal election hint at shifts that could be replicated in state polls due in November and March

With the federal poll decided, upcoming elections in Australia’s two biggest states will be the next electoral test for our country’s political parties. The dramatic swing to independents raises interesting questions about what might happen in Victoria in November and New South Wales in March.

It’s important to note that federal election results are not predictive of what happens in state elections, or vice versa. Indeed, there is a history of state and federal elections held in quick succession producing quite different results. The 1992 Victorian state election swept Jeff Kennett to power, less than six months before the state voted strongly for the Keating Labor government in 1993.

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The challenge for the Victorians party, born from lockdown anger

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New party hopes to win up to 10 seats in November’s state election, but political insiders and observers have doubts

A new party born out of frustration with Covid lockdowns and a dislike for the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, is eyeing as many as 10 seats at the upcoming state election, though political insiders have cast doubt on their chances.

The Victorians party was launched a year out from the 26 November state election and has since received sustained media coverage, helping it to attract about 5,000 members.

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‘Decolonisation in action’: Victorian treaty negotiations to be overseen by independent authority

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State government struck an agreement with the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria to establish body with legal powers

Victoria is set to establish an independent authority to help oversee the nation’s first treaty negotiations between a government and First Nations people.

The minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Gabrielle Williams, will introduce the Treaty Authority Bill to parliament on Tuesday, after the government struck an agreement with the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, the body elected by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to help develop a treaty framework.

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Melbourne’s ‘pause’ on new bike lanes sparks outrage on World Bicycle Day

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Advocates and key councillor hope the halt is short-lived, but transport union criticises existing lanes

Cycling advocates are holding out hope that a halt on new bike lanes in Melbourne CBD announced Friday will be short-lived, warning of the risks posed by gaps in the network.

The Melbourne lord mayor, Sally Capp, said Friday there would be a “pause” on the construction of dedicated cycling lanes in the CBD. The City of Melbourne council said it would instead prioritise upgrading cycling infrastructure on arterial roads.

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First Nations farmers to get traditional lessons of the land in Victorian pilot scheme

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State government to launch program to improve skills of Aboriginal agricultural workers and develop business opportunities

Mick Buckworth, like many of his ancestors, loves being on the land.

The farm manager of Rumbalara Aboriginal Cooperative in Shepparton, in regional Victoria, said the skills he has developed – from knowing how to plant “kangaroo tails” to carefully putting traditional beehives together – were both valuable and satisfying.

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‘You don’t have a choice’: Victoria’s mental health regulator criticised over complaints handling

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Olivia* complained to hospital and regulator about her treatment and feels disempowered by the process

Olivia* still has questions about the compulsory mental health treatment she received at a Melbourne hospital.

Last year, she was admitted into the Northern hospital after an eating disorder relapse. Olivia, aged in her 40s, alleges she received forced mental health treatment after being told the hospital did not treat eating disorders.

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Liberal party should forgo ‘entitled’ Kooyong voters, says their own state Liberal MP

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Tim Smith, who is retiring in November, says Coalition needs to ‘stop obsessing with the woke causes of inner-urban elites’ and focus on suburbs

The voters of Kooyong in Melbourne’s east have been described as “loud, entitled and privileged” – by their own state Liberal MP.

Victorian Liberal Tim Smith represents the state electorate of Kew, which overlaps the federal seat of Kooyong, where independent Monique Ryan defeated former treasurer Josh Frydenberg in Saturday’s election.

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Ban on new gas connections will help transition Victoria away from fossil fuels, inquiry finds

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Parliamentary committee also recommends cut-off date for sale of diesel and petrol cars

A Victorian parliamentary committee has recommended the Andrews government consider a ban on gas connections in new homes to help accelerate the state’s transition to renewables.

It also urged Victoria to commit to a cut-off date for the sale of new petrol, diesel and gas-fuelled vehicles.

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Triple-zero overhaul: 21 Victorians died waiting for an ambulance in past six months, inquiry hears

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Failures in triple-zero system blamed for 18 of the deaths, Ambulance Victoria chief tells budget estimates hearing

Twenty-one Victorians have died waiting for an ambulance over the past six months, a budget estimates hearing has been told.

Failures in the triple-zero system have been blamed for 18 of the deaths with three attributed to paramedics not getting to patients on time, Ambulance Victoria’s acting chief executive, Libby Murphy, said on Friday.

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Matthew Guy uses budget reply speech to attack Victoria’s response to the pandemic

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Opposition leader makes no new policy announcements ahead of election, but criticises levels of debt

The Victorian opposition leader, Matthew Guy, has delivered a budget reply speech focused on attacking the government’s response to the pandemic, without announcing any new policies ahead of the November state election.

Guy characterised the premier, Daniel Andrews, as an “arrogant and unchecked” leader, who would send Victoria “broke” as a result of Covid-19 lockdowns, cost overruns on major projects and record debt levels.

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Victoria ‘failing’ to offset damage caused by disproportionate level of land clearing

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Auditor general says Victoria has most native vegetation cleared, proportional to land mass, in Australia

Victoria has the most native vegetation cleared proportional to land mass of any Australian state and it is failing to offset the damage caused, the state’s auditor general says.

About 10,380 habitat hectares of native vegetation is removed from Victorian private properties each year, the auditor general estimated in a report tabled in the state’s parliament on Wednesday.

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Victoria’s landmark truth-telling commission needs to run for up to 10 years, First Peoples leader says

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Marcus Stewart says current timeframe of Yoorrook Justice Commission not enough to ‘unpack 200-plus years of colonisation’

Victoria’s truth-telling commission needs up to a decade of inquiry before delivering its final report – which is slated for 2024 – a leader of the state’s elected First Nations body says.

Marcus Stewart, co-chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, wants the Victorian government to extend the timeframe for the Yoorrook Justice Commission.

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Victorian government delivers a budget that’s a tale of two elections

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Analysis: While the budget seeks to repair the damage of the past two years, it’s clear some wounds are yet to heal

Handing down his eighth Victorian budget on Tuesday, the treasurer, Tim Pallas, pitched it at not one but two elections.

The most timely is the federal election. Through the budget, Pallas makes it clear that, whoever wins in May, he expects a greater share of funding for Victoria and is happy to criticise the Morrison government until then.

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Election 2022 live updates: RBA chief warns interest rates could hit 2.5% as Labor seizes on ‘cost of living crisis’

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Scott Morrison defends economic ‘shield’ after RBA lifts cash rate target from historic low; Philip Lowe says more interest rate rises to come; Jim Chalmers says central bank decision ‘a very serious development’; nation records 41 Covid deaths. Follow the latest updates live

Scott Morrison doesn’t get sick of the “silly” photo ops [silly photo opportunities being how the question was framed], he tells Melbourne radio’s Neil Mitchell, because he “doesn’t see them that way”.

He then gives a hero-gram to tradies.

I don’t fit in those ways, what I see is [being] out and about and doing what Australians do every day.

... What I enjoy doing is standing there with an apprentice who shows me what they’re learning, and then I’d have a go at it.

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Victoria’s treasurer delivers health-focused budget and promises return to surplus

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Tim Pallas announces new hospitals, clearing of a surgery backlog and hiring of thousands of healthcare workers

The Victorian government will spend $12bn to repair its Covid-battered health system with the treasurer, Tim Pallas, confident that the worst of the pandemic is behind the state and a return to surplus will happen in the near future.

Pallas’s eighth budget, handed down on Tuesday, includes $2.9bn worth of new health infrastructure. This includes $900m to build a hospital in Melton, in Melbourne’s west, which will include a 24-hour emergency department and an intensive care unit, along with maternity and mental health services.

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In an election budget, Victorian treasurer Tim Pallas is fighting a war on many fronts

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Analysis: To fight his way back to surplus, Pallas relies on economic growth rather than spending cuts or increased taxes

Inflation, a Covid comeback, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Josh Frydenberg “short-changing” his home state – these are the major battles Victoria’s treasurer, Tim Pallas, faces as he plots a narrow course towards a small budget surplus within four years’ time.

To fight his way back to surplus, Pallas is relying on economic growth – fuelled by the state’s speedy bounceback from a Covid-19 recession and a full-to-overflowing $21bn-a-year infrastructure pipeline, which itself contains significant potential pitfalls – rather than cutting spending or increasing taxes.

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Victoria’s government quietly prepares an election budget while attention is diverted

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Analysis: In the days before last year’s budget, $4.2bn in commitments were announced. Just $277m has been announced ahead of Tuesday’s

With all eyes fixed on the federal election campaign, you’d be forgiven for nearly forgetting Victoria’s treasurer, Tim Pallas, is set to hand down a state budget in a couple of days.

So far, all we know is that health will be a main theme of the pre-election budget. Improving lengthy ambulance wait times, emergency department overcrowding and the state’s triple zero call-taking system are front of mind after several much-publicised deaths, including that of a 72-year-old man who waited more than three hours for a bed at a regional hospital earlier this month.

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