Victoria Future Fund Bill 2023
The question before us here in this motion is for the bill that has been second read today to be debated tomorrow and be voted on tomorrow instead of the usual two weeks, and the answer simply is no, regardless of the merits of either of the bills that are being rushed through today. The government has been at great pains today to assert their control over the house, far beyond what is reasonable, far beyond what is the practice I think of any other Westminster parliament. We have got no time for non-government business. We cannot even have a non-government business bill put on the notice paper. We have not had, historically throughout this whole time they have been in government, any amendments to bills. Now we are going to have no time to actually consider a bill, let alone let the community consider a bill. In previous debates, when the member for Richmond has sought to introduce bills, the government was at great pains to talk about due process: ‘Governing, you have got to do everything with due process’. Apparently now due process for a bill gets you a briefing on a Friday, introduction on a Tuesday and debate on a Wednesday. That is not due process. That is absolutely appalling.
I have got to say one thing the government actually does have control over is the sitting days of the house. It is entirely within their power to arrange sitting days and arrange their legislative program to allow for the much-vaunted due process that they so revere over there – I know when it comes to legislation – to allow due process with legislation. They have not done it in this case, and there are a number of serious concerns with this bill that I am sure the community would want to have look at and see addressed. How does this bill relate to the government’s privatisation agenda? How will this bill relate to the pressure the government is putting on land sales and the revenue raised from land sales? You just need to look at the Auditor-General’s report into land sales. Now it is going to be in legislation – when you are setting monetary targets for land sales; this is now going to be baked into legislation, putting pressure on governments to sell off land instead of considering it for community uses, using it for other purposes such as housing.
There are also concerns around just how this money is going to be invested. Will it be invested in fossil fuels? There are a number of massive questions over just this piece of legislation, so the idea that we should have it introduced here, after a briefing on a Friday, on a Tuesday – the general public have not been able to see it – and then have a debate and a vote on a Wednesday is an absolute disgrace, and it should not occur. We will not be supporting it.