Allan government refuses to rule out introducing a new tax on households to fill Suburban Rail Loop funding black hole
The Allan government has pledged to use 'value capture' to cover up to a third of the $34 billion required for the eastern section of the SRL. On Sunday, the Herald Sun revealed former premier Daniel Andrews had been presented with a list of five options for value capture, including a 'modest' levy on households in metropolitan suburbs.
Mr Andrews was reportedly opposed to the tax proposal - viewing it as political poison - but when Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams was asked whether it was still on the table, she refused to say.
'Look, as we've as we've said consistently on this topic, there is a power of work going on to examine and evaluate a range of different value capture opportunities,' she told reporters on Monday.
'That work is ongoing and is in the process, I understand from colleagues, of being finalised as we speak and we'll have more to say about it in due course."
Pressed on whether a levy on households was one of the options being considered, Ms Williams said a 'range of different potential measures' were being assessed, before claiming the government would 'be transparent with the Victorian community about what that will involve'.
Asked a third time whether she could rule out an SRL tax on households, the Transport Minister again refused - stating it was 'still being worked through'.
Opposition Leader Brad Battin said Victorians across the state ought to be wary about the Allan government when it came to taxes.
'They've increased or added another 63 taxes across Victoria, and now they're saying they won't rule out a new tax for the SRL,' he said.
Mr Battin said the government 'simply can't afford' the SRL but said he felt the government would press on regardless.
'They will do anything they can (including) stealing money from people who are hardworking across our state to put back in their coffers for their failures,' he said.
'The Allan Labor government have an option: Do you continue with a project that is going to impact people during a cost of living crisis for a long period of time, or do you do the right thing, take the step back now, cancel the project and ensure that Victorians can get on with their lives with less government interference, and put the money into the projects where it's desperately needed in the growth corridors?"
The Opposition Leader said the government's infrastructure cost blowouts were already impacting services across the state.
'They're spending billions of dollars over what they project every time, and that impacts on the cost of every other service across Victoria,' he said.
'There's a reason that ambulances are ramped at hospitals; there's a reason you don't feel safe in your home; there is a reason education standards drop – because the Allan Labor government continue to waste money on projects with cost overruns on each and every project they have.'
According to the Herald Sun, the other value capture options presented to the former Premier included a levy on off-street car parks, taxes on developers, a windfall gains tax on station precincts, as well as the ring-fencing of land tax revenue from SRL precincts.
Tunnelling on the SRL East is set to begin next year, however there remains a huge funding black hole in the $34 billion project.
While the Victorian government has committed $11.8 billion towards the project, the Albanese government has only pledged $2.2 billion - leaving $20 billion unaccounted for.
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Under Victoria's "limited" definition of corrupt conduct, Mr Hatzistergos said it was unlikely the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission would have investigated or made findings against Ms Berejiklian. The ICAC chief commissioner told the inquiry the conduct exposed by Operation Keppel was "quite serious". "You can read the report and form your own views as to whether or not it's appropriate for that sort of conduct to be allowed to go without appropriate intervention from your corruption commission," he said. Operation Keppel uncovered the secret "close personal relationship" between Ms Berejiklian and former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire in a bombshell public hearing in October 2020. Mr Maguire resigned from NSW parliament in 2018 after ICAC began investigating his improper use of his role as an MP to benefit a company in which he had a financial interest. 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The Advertiser
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Ms Wood said the market had naturally found a "sweet spot", as businesses that offer more flexibility find it easier to attract and retain workers, and businesses that want stricter rules around office attendance tend to have to pay a premium. "So I guess if I was to apply a growth mindset to this, I would think what's the problem that we're trying to solve here? It's not clear to me that there needs to be a role for government in that," she said. "Regulatory hairballs" are everywhere, she argued, from 31-step approvals and licensing surveys for would-be Queensland cafe owners to "evermore stringent requirements for energy efficiency in the construction code". The Albanese government has lobbed its fair share of hairballs down Australia's regulatory gullet, contends opposition productivity spokesman Andrew Bragg. 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The commission has spelled out a long list of recommendations to kickstart anaemic productivity growth in five separate reports released before the roundtable, which begins in Canberra on Tuesday. Suggestions include reforming the corporate tax system and financial incentives for workplace training. If the roundtable fails to revive productivity growth, Australia's GDP could be six per cent lower than it might otherwise be, a loss of about $6000 per person, HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham said. "The stakes are high. It's crunch time." Mr Bloxham identified tax reform, competition and regulation as the three key areas the roundtable ought to address. Growth in the regulatory burden was symptomatic of a policy culture failing to prioritise growth, Ms Wood said. Governments have felt a need to "do something" every time an issue emerged, ending up in a system that dampened growth. An example was the Victorian government's plan to legislate at least two days a week of work from home. Ms Wood said the market had naturally found a "sweet spot", as businesses that offer more flexibility find it easier to attract and retain workers, and businesses that want stricter rules around office attendance tend to have to pay a premium. "So I guess if I was to apply a growth mindset to this, I would think what's the problem that we're trying to solve here? It's not clear to me that there needs to be a role for government in that," she said. "Regulatory hairballs" are everywhere, she argued, from 31-step approvals and licensing surveys for would-be Queensland cafe owners to "evermore stringent requirements for energy efficiency in the construction code". The Albanese government has lobbed its fair share of hairballs down Australia's regulatory gullet, contends opposition productivity spokesman Andrew Bragg. In its first term, Labor introduced 5034 new regulations and 400 fresh laws, raising the cost of compliance by $4.8 billion, according to Office of Impact Analysis figures cited by Senator Bragg. "Australia is now one of the most heavily regulated countries in the world," he said. The treasurer rubbished the claims, arguing the coalition introduced more regulations in its last term before its 2022 election loss. "If the coalition had answers on productivity, they wouldn't have presided over the worst decade for productivity growth in the last 60 years," he said. Dr Chalmers acknowledged the government had been getting in its own way with regulation that was slowing down new housing or energy projects. Some regulation, such as tying government procurement to gender equality aims, was serving a useful purpose, he said. "Where regulation is unnecessary, where it's duplicated, where it's not serving a useful purpose, we should seek to wind it back, and that's what we intend to do." 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The commission has spelled out a long list of recommendations to kickstart anaemic productivity growth in five separate reports released before the roundtable, which begins in Canberra on Tuesday. Suggestions include reforming the corporate tax system and financial incentives for workplace training. If the roundtable fails to revive productivity growth, Australia's GDP could be six per cent lower than it might otherwise be, a loss of about $6000 per person, HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham said. "The stakes are high. It's crunch time." Mr Bloxham identified tax reform, competition and regulation as the three key areas the roundtable ought to address. Growth in the regulatory burden was symptomatic of a policy culture failing to prioritise growth, Ms Wood said. Governments have felt a need to "do something" every time an issue emerged, ending up in a system that dampened growth. An example was the Victorian government's plan to legislate at least two days a week of work from home. Ms Wood said the market had naturally found a "sweet spot", as businesses that offer more flexibility find it easier to attract and retain workers, and businesses that want stricter rules around office attendance tend to have to pay a premium. "So I guess if I was to apply a growth mindset to this, I would think what's the problem that we're trying to solve here? It's not clear to me that there needs to be a role for government in that," she said. "Regulatory hairballs" are everywhere, she argued, from 31-step approvals and licensing surveys for would-be Queensland cafe owners to "evermore stringent requirements for energy efficiency in the construction code". The Albanese government has lobbed its fair share of hairballs down Australia's regulatory gullet, contends opposition productivity spokesman Andrew Bragg. In its first term, Labor introduced 5034 new regulations and 400 fresh laws, raising the cost of compliance by $4.8 billion, according to Office of Impact Analysis figures cited by Senator Bragg. "Australia is now one of the most heavily regulated countries in the world," he said. The treasurer rubbished the claims, arguing the coalition introduced more regulations in its last term before its 2022 election loss. "If the coalition had answers on productivity, they wouldn't have presided over the worst decade for productivity growth in the last 60 years," he said. Dr Chalmers acknowledged the government had been getting in its own way with regulation that was slowing down new housing or energy projects. Some regulation, such as tying government procurement to gender equality aims, was serving a useful purpose, he said. "Where regulation is unnecessary, where it's duplicated, where it's not serving a useful purpose, we should seek to wind it back, and that's what we intend to do."
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Fraud claim rocks Smorgon gold mine deal
Companies controlled by the powerful Victor Smorgon Group have been accused of running a dishonest and fraudulent scheme to invalidly acquire a stake in an Australian gold mine at a below-market price. The allegations, which have been strongly denied, were filed in the Federal Court by the Smorgon group's Chinese partners in the Stawell Gold Mine, and reveal a bitter battle for control of the Victorian project at a time of record high gold prices.
