Latest news with #Victorians'
The Age
30-05-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Keeping power in check: The Age as a watchdog
In their feedback and correspondence, subscribers to The Age constantly make clear to me their desire for our journalists to hold society's powerful people and institutions to account. There is nothing new or innovative about the watchdog function of publications such as ours, indeed it is something people expect. But if you will allow me a small boast, I have to say I think we're quite good at it. In recent weeks our reporting has revealed: * The Victorian government is seeking to save $2.4 billion by delaying funding increases promised under the Gonski reforms, embedding the status of the so-called 'Education State' as the nation's poorest funder of public schools. * An outlaw bikie gang has been linked to a spate of firebombings targeting construction businesses across the state, and building industry insiders are concerned that government and law enforcement are not doing enough to stop it. * A dispute in the Victorian Liberal Party following a faux pas about Gina Rinehart has spilled over into a Fair Work matter. * Victorians' lives could be saved by mandating that defibrillators be registered on a public database. * A state government payroll tax touted as a salve for our ailing mental health system is overdelivering financially, but the state hasn't yet met a commitment for 170 new mental health beds. Most of these stories seek to hold our elected officials accountable along with the people they appoint to public roles, but our watchdog role extends beyond government to power in places such as sporting codes, business, schools, hospitals, the courts, society and the media. Of course, watchdog journalism doesn't cover everything we do, but it's at the heart of our purpose.
New European
27-05-2025
- Politics
- New European
Prisoners of circumstance
Superficially, this could hardly be more dispiriting for those like me who believe that the country already jails far too many people. The justice secretary herself went on to admit that 'our prisons too often create better criminals, not better citizens'. But the country's penchant for locking up offenders has landed this government with a massive problem: a constantly growing demand for places in institutions, many of which are unfit for purpose and some of which are unfit for habitation of any kind. Rejoice! The UK government is on track for 'the largest expansion since the Victorians' in one crucial area of infrastructure. Could that be schools for social carers, perhaps, or roads, or maybe, at last, some new reservoirs? No, the proud boast made to parliament last Thursday relates to prison places. It appears Keir Starmer wants to radically reshape prison policy. His appointment of James, now Lord, Timpson as prisons minister indicated a determination to bring real reform. Asking David Gauke to lead a review of sentencing policy was another pragmatic step in that direction: Gauke is a former Tory justice minister who was sacked from the party, and then from parliament, because of his lack of support for Boris Johnson's Brexit strategy. Gauke's report advocating more use of non-custodial sentences and a greater emphasis on dealing with the underlying problems of offenders – a high proportion of whom have addiction issues, poor levels of literacy and multiple difficulties with housing, relationships and general health – accompanied the statement by Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary. The official launch was pre-empted by a flurry of media excitement about 'chemical castration' for sex offenders. This is a gross exaggeration of the use of medication that the report moots as a possibility, and was guaranteed to upset social liberals. Yet some cynics might suggest that the government would have been happy with that outcome. When the then home secretary, Michael Howard, declared in 1993 that 'prison works', heads across the UK nodded in agreement, many adding a wish to 'throw away the key'. Their views have not changed, even though it is now clear that crime can thrive even inside some prisons, where drugs proliferate and those who enter without a habit are at risk of picking one up. Punishment rather than rehabilitation is the demand from many voters. Any liberal thinker who doubts that should take note of the polling on capital punishment. In January this year, More in Common found that 55% of people wanted to bring back the ultimate sanction for crimes such as multiple murder and terrorism, up from 50% a couple of years earlier. Among millennials, (those born between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s) the proportion in favour was 58%. Only 27% were opposed. Even if the government had once been prepared to take a principled stand on issues such as prisons, the local election results, with the massive victories for Reform, will have reminded it that it cannot risk alienating a significant proportion of the electorate. 'Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime' was the slogan first used by Tony Blair when, as shadow home secretary, he addressed the Labour conference in the year that Howard made his (in)famous remark. Blair was acknowledging the voters' appetite for harsh punishment – Starmer knows he must do the same. But the crisis point that is now being reached in the UK's prisons provides an opportunity to make changes while blaming impossible inherited circumstances. Sentencing guidelines that pander to the public and the more strident media have led to a record number of people being crowded into a limited prison estate. This has had disastrous effects, not least on any hope of rehabilitation, as facilities and staff for training and education are overwhelmed. The government has already had to institute one batch of early releases in order to avoid a potential complete breakdown in the system, when there would simply have been nowhere left to send even the most dangerous criminals. Now, despite another 2,400 places being added, if current trends continue, by early 2028 the country will be short of 9,500 prison places. This is why the government has accepted Gauke's recommendation that most prison sentences should offer the chance of earlier release, on licence and with strict conditions, than is currently the case. There will also be a move towards much greater use of non-custodial sentences for offences that currently put people behind bars for less than a year, often with disastrous long-term effects. These sentences do not work on any level: nearly 60% of those sentenced to 12 months or less reoffend within a year. And, while women make up only a tiny proportion of the prison population, there will be a determined effort to further reduce the number. Achieving a more humane, successful and economic prison system will take time. These may seem like baby steps to prison reform, but they are a start. Crucially, they are enough to unsettle the extreme 'throw away the key' brigade without alienating the bulk of the electorate.
The Advertiser
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Advertiser
Debt piles up as public service faces $3b budget cut
A booming tax take, public service cuts and GST windfall are keeping a state budget afloat but debt keeps rising to historic highs. In her Victorian budget debut on Tuesday, Treasurer Jaclyn Symes projected net debt would hit $194 billion by 2028/29. Interest payments to service the debt will be $10.6 billion at that point, almost $29 million a day. Victoria's debt as a share of the economy is expected to peak at 25.2 per cent in 2026/27 before falling slightly. The budget spruiked a $2.3 billion cost-of-living package, including $50 million for another round of the power saving bonus for concession card holders and record $31 billion in health spending. Ms Symes hailed the state's return to an operating surplus of $600 million next financial year, the first produced since the COVID-19 pandemic. It was forecast to be $1.6 billion in December and could have been reinforced or bettered after Victoria received an extra $3.7 billion in GST revenue for 2025/26. Ms Symes, who described her budget strategy as responsible, decided to instead prioritise cost-of-living measures and funding core services. "This is support you can feel - at the kitchen table, at the school gate, at the train station," she told parliament. "It's a budget ... that is on Victorians' side." The budget does not contain an exact number of job losses stemming from a review, led by Helen Silver, of the Victorian public service. But it banks on $3.3 billion in savings from ceasing and redesigning programs, reducing duplication and cutting about 1200 full-time equivalent positions. More changes will follow after Ms Silver's final report is handed to the government in June, with the treasurer declaring there was more "fat" to trim. "That will identify additional savings," Ms Symes told reporters "There will be further job reductions, we flagged up to 3000." Infrastructure spending is forecast to fall by $8.2 billion over the next four years but the total for new and existing projects has skipped $8.1 billion higher to $213 billion. The cost of the state's infrastructure program has blown out by 1.9 per cent in just 12 months and a public transport ticketing system upgrade is $136.7 million over budget and won't be completed until late 2028. Ms Symes stuck to her word of no new taxes but the total take is slated to balloon from $31 billion in 2022/2023 to $41.7 billion in 2025/26 and Business, property and development groups were all in furious agreement the budget did not deal with the need for tax reform. "A key to improving cost-of-living pressures for families is secure housing and property tax relief," Urban Development Institute of Australia chief executive Linda Allison said. Australian Industry Group Victorian head Tim Piper said it was not a budget for business. "This is a budget which really lines directly up to the next election," he said. The opposition labelled the budget a "shopping list" rather than a real plan to pay down debt. "The amount we pay in interest will soon be 10 per cent of the total budget spend," Shadow Treasurer James Newbury said. Ms Symes will travel to the US in coming weeks to meet with credit rating agencies after S&P called for the state to demonstrate "fiscal discipline". KEY FORECASTS IN THE VICTORIAN BUDGET: * Net operating result: $600 billion surplus in 2025/26 to $1.5 billion surplus in 2028/29 * Net cash result: $15.5 billion deficit in 2025/26 to $11.4 billion deficit in 2028/29 * Tax revenue: $39.2 billion in 2025/26 to $47.9 billion in 2028/29 * Employee expenses: $38 billion in 2025/26 to $42.3 billion in 2028/29 * Infrastructure spending: $23.8 billion in 2025/26 to $15.6 billion in 2028/29 * Net debt: $155.5 billion in 2025/26 to $194 billion in 2028/29 * Interest repayments on debt: $6.8 billion in 2025/26 to $10.6 billion in 2028/29 A booming tax take, public service cuts and GST windfall are keeping a state budget afloat but debt keeps rising to historic highs. In her Victorian budget debut on Tuesday, Treasurer Jaclyn Symes projected net debt would hit $194 billion by 2028/29. Interest payments to service the debt will be $10.6 billion at that point, almost $29 million a day. Victoria's debt as a share of the economy is expected to peak at 25.2 per cent in 2026/27 before falling slightly. The budget spruiked a $2.3 billion cost-of-living package, including $50 million for another round of the power saving bonus for concession card holders and record $31 billion in health spending. Ms Symes hailed the state's return to an operating surplus of $600 million next financial year, the first produced since the COVID-19 pandemic. It was forecast to be $1.6 billion in December and could have been reinforced or bettered after Victoria received an extra $3.7 billion in GST revenue for 2025/26. Ms Symes, who described her budget strategy as responsible, decided to instead prioritise cost-of-living measures and funding core services. "This is support you can feel - at the kitchen table, at the school gate, at the train station," she told parliament. "It's a budget ... that is on Victorians' side." The budget does not contain an exact number of job losses stemming from a review, led by Helen Silver, of the Victorian public service. But it banks on $3.3 billion in savings from ceasing and redesigning programs, reducing duplication and cutting about 1200 full-time equivalent positions. More changes will follow after Ms Silver's final report is handed to the government in June, with the treasurer declaring there was more "fat" to trim. "That will identify additional savings," Ms Symes told reporters "There will be further job reductions, we flagged up to 3000." Infrastructure spending is forecast to fall by $8.2 billion over the next four years but the total for new and existing projects has skipped $8.1 billion higher to $213 billion. The cost of the state's infrastructure program has blown out by 1.9 per cent in just 12 months and a public transport ticketing system upgrade is $136.7 million over budget and won't be completed until late 2028. Ms Symes stuck to her word of no new taxes but the total take is slated to balloon from $31 billion in 2022/2023 to $41.7 billion in 2025/26 and Business, property and development groups were all in furious agreement the budget did not deal with the need for tax reform. "A key to improving cost-of-living pressures for families is secure housing and property tax relief," Urban Development Institute of Australia chief executive Linda Allison said. Australian Industry Group Victorian head Tim Piper said it was not a budget for business. "This is a budget which really lines directly up to the next election," he said. The opposition labelled the budget a "shopping list" rather than a real plan to pay down debt. "The amount we pay in interest will soon be 10 per cent of the total budget spend," Shadow Treasurer James Newbury said. Ms Symes will travel to the US in coming weeks to meet with credit rating agencies after S&P called for the state to demonstrate "fiscal discipline". KEY FORECASTS IN THE VICTORIAN BUDGET: * Net operating result: $600 billion surplus in 2025/26 to $1.5 billion surplus in 2028/29 * Net cash result: $15.5 billion deficit in 2025/26 to $11.4 billion deficit in 2028/29 * Tax revenue: $39.2 billion in 2025/26 to $47.9 billion in 2028/29 * Employee expenses: $38 billion in 2025/26 to $42.3 billion in 2028/29 * Infrastructure spending: $23.8 billion in 2025/26 to $15.6 billion in 2028/29 * Net debt: $155.5 billion in 2025/26 to $194 billion in 2028/29 * Interest repayments on debt: $6.8 billion in 2025/26 to $10.6 billion in 2028/29 A booming tax take, public service cuts and GST windfall are keeping a state budget afloat but debt keeps rising to historic highs. In her Victorian budget debut on Tuesday, Treasurer Jaclyn Symes projected net debt would hit $194 billion by 2028/29. Interest payments to service the debt will be $10.6 billion at that point, almost $29 million a day. Victoria's debt as a share of the economy is expected to peak at 25.2 per cent in 2026/27 before falling slightly. The budget spruiked a $2.3 billion cost-of-living package, including $50 million for another round of the power saving bonus for concession card holders and record $31 billion in health spending. Ms Symes hailed the state's return to an operating surplus of $600 million next financial year, the first produced since the COVID-19 pandemic. It was forecast to be $1.6 billion in December and could have been reinforced or bettered after Victoria received an extra $3.7 billion in GST revenue for 2025/26. Ms Symes, who described her budget strategy as responsible, decided to instead prioritise cost-of-living measures and funding core services. "This is support you can feel - at the kitchen table, at the school gate, at the train station," she told parliament. "It's a budget ... that is on Victorians' side." The budget does not contain an exact number of job losses stemming from a review, led by Helen Silver, of the Victorian public service. But it banks on $3.3 billion in savings from ceasing and redesigning programs, reducing duplication and cutting about 1200 full-time equivalent positions. More changes will follow after Ms Silver's final report is handed to the government in June, with the treasurer declaring there was more "fat" to trim. "That will identify additional savings," Ms Symes told reporters "There will be further job reductions, we flagged up to 3000." Infrastructure spending is forecast to fall by $8.2 billion over the next four years but the total for new and existing projects has skipped $8.1 billion higher to $213 billion. The cost of the state's infrastructure program has blown out by 1.9 per cent in just 12 months and a public transport ticketing system upgrade is $136.7 million over budget and won't be completed until late 2028. Ms Symes stuck to her word of no new taxes but the total take is slated to balloon from $31 billion in 2022/2023 to $41.7 billion in 2025/26 and Business, property and development groups were all in furious agreement the budget did not deal with the need for tax reform. "A key to improving cost-of-living pressures for families is secure housing and property tax relief," Urban Development Institute of Australia chief executive Linda Allison said. Australian Industry Group Victorian head Tim Piper said it was not a budget for business. "This is a budget which really lines directly up to the next election," he said. The opposition labelled the budget a "shopping list" rather than a real plan to pay down debt. "The amount we pay in interest will soon be 10 per cent of the total budget spend," Shadow Treasurer James Newbury said. Ms Symes will travel to the US in coming weeks to meet with credit rating agencies after S&P called for the state to demonstrate "fiscal discipline". KEY FORECASTS IN THE VICTORIAN BUDGET: * Net operating result: $600 billion surplus in 2025/26 to $1.5 billion surplus in 2028/29 * Net cash result: $15.5 billion deficit in 2025/26 to $11.4 billion deficit in 2028/29 * Tax revenue: $39.2 billion in 2025/26 to $47.9 billion in 2028/29 * Employee expenses: $38 billion in 2025/26 to $42.3 billion in 2028/29 * Infrastructure spending: $23.8 billion in 2025/26 to $15.6 billion in 2028/29 * Net debt: $155.5 billion in 2025/26 to $194 billion in 2028/29 * Interest repayments on debt: $6.8 billion in 2025/26 to $10.6 billion in 2028/29 A booming tax take, public service cuts and GST windfall are keeping a state budget afloat but debt keeps rising to historic highs. In her Victorian budget debut on Tuesday, Treasurer Jaclyn Symes projected net debt would hit $194 billion by 2028/29. Interest payments to service the debt will be $10.6 billion at that point, almost $29 million a day. Victoria's debt as a share of the economy is expected to peak at 25.2 per cent in 2026/27 before falling slightly. The budget spruiked a $2.3 billion cost-of-living package, including $50 million for another round of the power saving bonus for concession card holders and record $31 billion in health spending. Ms Symes hailed the state's return to an operating surplus of $600 million next financial year, the first produced since the COVID-19 pandemic. It was forecast to be $1.6 billion in December and could have been reinforced or bettered after Victoria received an extra $3.7 billion in GST revenue for 2025/26. Ms Symes, who described her budget strategy as responsible, decided to instead prioritise cost-of-living measures and funding core services. "This is support you can feel - at the kitchen table, at the school gate, at the train station," she told parliament. "It's a budget ... that is on Victorians' side." The budget does not contain an exact number of job losses stemming from a review, led by Helen Silver, of the Victorian public service. But it banks on $3.3 billion in savings from ceasing and redesigning programs, reducing duplication and cutting about 1200 full-time equivalent positions. More changes will follow after Ms Silver's final report is handed to the government in June, with the treasurer declaring there was more "fat" to trim. "That will identify additional savings," Ms Symes told reporters "There will be further job reductions, we flagged up to 3000." Infrastructure spending is forecast to fall by $8.2 billion over the next four years but the total for new and existing projects has skipped $8.1 billion higher to $213 billion. The cost of the state's infrastructure program has blown out by 1.9 per cent in just 12 months and a public transport ticketing system upgrade is $136.7 million over budget and won't be completed until late 2028. Ms Symes stuck to her word of no new taxes but the total take is slated to balloon from $31 billion in 2022/2023 to $41.7 billion in 2025/26 and Business, property and development groups were all in furious agreement the budget did not deal with the need for tax reform. "A key to improving cost-of-living pressures for families is secure housing and property tax relief," Urban Development Institute of Australia chief executive Linda Allison said. Australian Industry Group Victorian head Tim Piper said it was not a budget for business. "This is a budget which really lines directly up to the next election," he said. The opposition labelled the budget a "shopping list" rather than a real plan to pay down debt. "The amount we pay in interest will soon be 10 per cent of the total budget spend," Shadow Treasurer James Newbury said. Ms Symes will travel to the US in coming weeks to meet with credit rating agencies after S&P called for the state to demonstrate "fiscal discipline". KEY FORECASTS IN THE VICTORIAN BUDGET: * Net operating result: $600 billion surplus in 2025/26 to $1.5 billion surplus in 2028/29 * Net cash result: $15.5 billion deficit in 2025/26 to $11.4 billion deficit in 2028/29 * Tax revenue: $39.2 billion in 2025/26 to $47.9 billion in 2028/29 * Employee expenses: $38 billion in 2025/26 to $42.3 billion in 2028/29 * Infrastructure spending: $23.8 billion in 2025/26 to $15.6 billion in 2028/29 * Net debt: $155.5 billion in 2025/26 to $194 billion in 2028/29 * Interest repayments on debt: $6.8 billion in 2025/26 to $10.6 billion in 2028/29
Epoch Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
Debt Servicing to Hit $25 Million a Day Despite Victoria's Forecast Surplus
Victoria's Treasurer Jaclyn Symes is spruiking a $600 million forecast operating surplus in 2025/26, the first time the state's budget has been in the black since the pandemic. But it's $1 billion lower than what was predicted in December, and independent economist Saul Eslake has said forecasts of net operating surpluses in the coming financial years should be greeted with a 'big yawn.' 'Victoria cannot begin to repay debt, indeed it cannot begin to stop adding to debt, unless it runs cash surpluses,' he told AAP. 'I would be pleasantly astonished ... if she forecasts a cash surplus in any of the four years to which the forward estimates relate.' Treasurer Symes says she's pleased that net debt forecasts over the next four years won't reach $200 billion, after the mid-year budget update estimated it to be $187.3 billion by mid-2028. But by then, state taxpayers are predicted to be paying $25 million a day in debt servicing costs, leaving less for critical services and infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, and roads. Related Stories 5/12/2025 3/14/2025 The more important figure is the cash balance, he said, because it includes infrastructure spending. This has previously forecast deficits of $9.4 billion in 2025/26, $7.7 billion in 2026/27 and $6.8 billion in 2027/28. Infrastructure Spending Reduced, Health Spending Up In the last state budget, total infrastructure spending was projected to fall from $23.5 billion a year this financial year to $15.6 billion in 2027/28. Symes confirmed it was still being reduced as major projects such as the Metro and West Gate tunnels, as well as hospitals in Frankston and Footscray, reach completion this year. 'The aggregate (net debt) will be revealed tomorrow, but it won't start with a two,' Symes said. Net debt as a share of the economy is predicted to peak in 2026/27 and fall in the following years. Operating net results, which are a measure of day-to-day government sector running costs minus revenue, are expected to be $1.9 billion in 2026/27 and $2.4 billion in 2027/28. Symes said the government could have posted a larger surplus next financial year, but instead chose to 'back Victorians' through policies such as free public transport for children under 18 and statewide free public transport for seniors on weekends. 'We know that cost of living, frontline services, these are the priorities that Victorians expect a Labor government to get behind,' she said. The government will pledge $11.1 billion injection into the state's public health service, bringing the total up to $31 billion. She has promised there will be no new business taxes or increases to existing ones beyond ordinary inflation. 'The message I heard loud and clear from the business sector ... was no more taxes,' she told reporters. The government is rolling out a new 'emergency services' levy, however, that has been met The government is hoping that further savings to the operating budget will come from a review of the public service, with thousands of workers likely to lose their jobs once it's complete.
Perth Now
15-05-2025
- Perth Now
Fresh clue to solving synagogue firebombing attack
A stolen car used by criminals in an alleged "politically motivated" synagogue firebombing has been linked to two previous arsons and a shooting. Terrorism investigators on Thursday released a series of images of the crooks believed to be responsible for the Adass Israel Synagogue arson attack in December and other serious crimes in Victoria. Two of the synagogue's three buildings in Ripponlea, in Melbourne's southeast, were gutted in the fire that erupted in the early hours of December 6, deeming the arson a likely a politically-motivated attack. Inside at the time were two congregants preparing for morning prayers who escaped, with one suffering minor injuries. Photos and CCTV footage released by counter-terror police shows a blue Volkswagen Golf 2020 sedan driving past the synagogue multiple times before parking outside the main entrance. Three people donning hoodies and masks are seen getting out of the vehicle and using an axe to damage the entrance of the building before pouring at least two liquids from a red jerry can inside the entrance and enter the synagogue. Vision shows the alleged criminals returning to the car multiple times to get more jerry cans, which were poured inside the synagogue before the liquid was ignited. They fled after the synagogue went up in flames in the direction towards the western suburbs. Police allege the blue Golf is a stolen car which was used in an arson and shooting in Bundoora on the same night before the synagogue attack and an arson on the Lux nightclub in South Yarra in November. Arson detectives on Thursday arrested two Pakenham men, aged 22 and 23, over the suspicious nightclub fire which caused more than $10 million worth of damage. Police seized the car, which was stolen from a driveway in Croydon in November and had cloned number plates in 2024, and are not considering the Bundoora and South Yarra incidents politically-motivated attacks. Counter-terror officers collected and combed through CCTV from more than 1400 locations and believe multiple offenders are directly and indirectly linked to the synagogue arson, AFP Assistant Commissioner for Counter Terrorism Stephen Nutt said. "This is no normal crime and that is why it is being investigated by the JCTT with the full force and capability of Victoria Police, the AFP and ASIO," he said. He urged the "extremely violent" individuals to come forward. Victoria Police Counter Terrorism Command Assistant Commissioner Tess Walsh said the synagogue attack impacted Victorians' feeling of safety and left people feeling deeply shocked, saddened and concerned. "There is no doubt that this blue VW Golf sedan is key," she said. "We need assistance from the public as we attempt to identify those who have been using this vehicle and what they have been involved in, and we know there are people out there who can supply this information."
