Tom Elliott calls out ALL politicians after state budget 'disaster' | 3AW Melbourne

If you are an ordinary person, and most of us are, yesterday was an unmitigated disaster.We had a state government budget that has got so many holes in it, so many half -truths, so much debt.The fastest growing line item in the state government's budget that was released yesterday is interest payments.They're going to go up 50, 5 -0 % in the next four years.So we're being governed by idiots.Michelle Bullock, the head of the Reserve Bank, she also put up interest rates to try and slow down the economy as if high fuel prices weren't doing that.

And then she blamed Jim Chalmers for not restraining his spending.And he said, no, no, no, that's not right.They're all idiots.Alright, now we deserve better from our political leadership and I am talking about the Prime Minister, the Treasurer.I'm talking about the head of the Reserve Bank of Australia who appears to have very little understanding of economics.I'm talking about the Victorian State Government.

The only thing it seems to know how to do is to spend money like it's going out of fashion and then to increase our taxes.Now remember in February last year the State Treasurer Jacqueline Symes, she was, and this was leaked at the time by the Herald Sun, She told her staff to quote unquote, stop using economic terms and phrases in all communications because I don't have a clue what you're talking about.So we have a treasurer that doesn't really understand finance and economics, but here she is in charge.We're going to have $200 billion of net debt fairly soon.It's going to be $237 billion of gross debt.We're plowing ahead with the suburban rail.

We don't have the federal government funds committed yet, and we haven't updated the business case to reflect how much it will actually cost to build.It is insane.And taxes have gone up.If you own a property, if you're an evil, greedy, capitalist landlord, oh, more and more land tax.If you run a business, More and more payroll tax.It is just horrendous.

We are being run by idiots.The Reserve Bank is stupid.The State Government is stupid.the Federal Government doesn't really know what it is doing either.They're all pulling in different directions.And meanwhile, particularly here in Victoria, the economy is going down the drain.

Now the economic growth figures in the State Budget are a terrible reading.Growth is only going to be 1 .5 % to maybe 1 .75 % to maybe 2 % in the next few years and politicians have a habit of overestimating how much growth there will be.So the economy is flatlining, our taxes are going up, our mortgage is costing more, fuel prices have gone up.Now that's not no one's fault, that's what's going on in the Middle East, but the point is that is hurting people.It is hurting people.We deserve better.

It just worries me.We've got politicians who all I know about is spending money and buying votes, and they look at the growing mountain of debt and say, oh well, Well, we'll leave that for another time.You know, that's something that the next generation can worry about.We certainly don't want to make the hard decisions.Now, you know, people often criticize Peter Costello's former treasurer.He could have bought votes in the 11 years that he was treasurer of this country.

He didn't.He paid down the debt to zero.Can you imagine any of today's politicians having the guts and the courage to do that?It would have been easy to spend money in to try and buy votes.He said, no, no, no, we need to live within our means and we are going to pay down the debt.And in 2006, we had zero federal government debt, zero.

Now we have almost a trillion dollars.If you look at our interest costs here in Victoria, for most of the last decade, we were spending $2 billion a year on interest.In a few years, we're going to be spending almost $12 billion a year on interest.The fastest growing line item in the budget.And we, as the people of this state, this country, we deserve better.We deserve competent state governments that know how to manage money.

We don't havethat here in Victoria.We need a federal treasurer and the head of the Reserve Bank who pull in the same direction and don't argue with each other.If government spending is causing inflation, fine, the government should realise this and wind back its spending.Instead we've got high interest rates and high taxes.It's just, anyway, it's a horrendous situation and it has made me angry, but again, the people up the top, the head of the Reserve Bank, the Prime Minister, the Treasurer of the Federal Government, the Premier and the Treasurer of the State Government who doesn't understand financial words because they're too complicated, they're all a bunch of idiots.

And they're in charge.

A budget blow for every Victorian, despite what you may read.And I think what struck me today is there is no one, there is no government, I think, in this country's history that spins it better than this one.So let me read you the top lines from the government's media releases today.While you struggle with higher taxes, cost of living pressures and an interest rate rise.Here we go.Labor delivers what we need to keep Victorians safe.

Labor delivers cost of living help and a surplus.Labor delivers for our children's future.And my personal favourite, Labor is making life easier, safer and better.

more affordable.

Overall, net debt has soared to $199 .3 billion.That's almost $200 billion that this state is in the red.The interest repayment will reach $1 .3 million an hour by the end of the forward estimates.That's $11 .8 billion a year.These are crazy numbers.And by 2930, 10 cents of every dollar of revenue raised by the government, so $0 .10 of every dollar of your taxes, will go towards repaying the interest on that debt.

These are all big numbers.To be quite frank, I reckon a lot of people probably feel like I do, how you actually justify theseand how you understand them and how they affect you, well, let me tell you why it should matter.The government will take from you $7 .7 billion in land tax, $12 .5 billion in payroll tax if you run a small business or a medium business in this country, in this state, $10 billion in stamp duty.And $6 .87 billion for the emergency services levy, the tax.That is double what it was a couple of years ago.

So when the Treasurer said this today, it just doesn't add up to me.

Speaker, this budget is about getting to the heart of that feeling.It's about helping with the cost of living.It's about giving families more time in their day.It's about strengthening the systems Victorians are relying on more than ever before.It's about building a stronger economy, a more secure future and creating opportunity for every Victorian.It doesn't solve every issue that families are facing or stop the wars and shocks and impacts from overseas.

But at its core, it helps to restore that basic deal that if people work hard, they deserve a decent life.It's a Labor budget.One that makes life easier, safer and more affordable for every Victorian.

If you work hard, you deserve a decent life.Absolutely you do.But do you work hard?I bet you do.We all do.But this government is taking more tax from you than any other government in this country, than any other government in the history of this state.

And when they talk about things like hard work and feeling safe, Feeling safe?Because I'll tell you what...average person on the street does not feel safe right now.So if you work hard, how do you feel about a record take of land tax, about a record take of fire services levy, about a record take of payroll tax?And just interestingly as well, particularly if you work for yourself or a small business in the private sector, public sector wages will grow from $42 .4 billion to $47 .86 billion within the forward estimates.So sorry, I thought we were meant to be reducing the public service.

And if we are, well, then is every bureaucrat getting a pay rise?Because I bet you they're out there in the real world.I bet you're not getting a pay rise right now.There's another couple of interesting points too I want to make today.And I mean, budgets, they can be quite boring.And this one doesn't have sort of a headline because we're broke.

The headline figure is debt.That's essentially what you should be looking at here.But there are all these other little things too.There are billions of dollars, the budget papers say, that have been set aside, and I quote, for unallocated decisions made, but not announced.You know what that is?That's an election war chest.

That's the government holding back billions.And I always thought, I mean, look, with a household budget, what you're supposed to do is pay your debt down quickly, and then you spend when you've paid your debt off.But for some reason, This government does it the other way.Please explain to me, if you're into finance, if you run a small business, if you run a household, explain to me what would happen if you just kept borrowing, borrowing, borrowing, borrowing, and you didn't pay down your debt?Because that is the reality now, a generational level of debt for our children, our grandchildren, and our grandchildren's grandchildren.That is essentially the reality of life in this state.

It's interesting too, when the government talks about feeling safer, victims of crime, spending on public order and safety is set to decline from $12 .7 billion to $11 .9 billion.$9 .8 billion next year.I don't feel safe.Do you feel safe?And there is money for police, but speaking to the police union, they say what they wantwas more money and more money for police recruitment.

And they haven't got enough of that.And there's another thing I want to take a look at today as well.And if you're out on the roads, when was the last time you got a speed camera fine?How much was it?Where was it?How much over the limit were you?

Because this is something I think is very sneaky indeed.So road safety camera fines, so these are the fixed ones, so the ones on the bridges and that are permanently there.Road safety camera fines will grow from $475 million to $686 million.That's more than $200 million extra that the government is saying they are going to take from you in speed camera fines.So where was the last time you got fined?When was it?

Let me know.$200 million extra.They're literally saying, so I want to know, is this revenue raising or is this road safety?And on top of that, you're also going to face a new congestion levy, another $200 million a year for city parking.And again, the city is doing it tough enough and small businesses are doing it tough enough.So it's like slug, slug, slug, slug, slug.

and the treasurer says this budget is a disciplined budget, I would say it is exactly the opposite.When you start to drill down into all these little items, a $200 million extra take for speed cameras, they are squeezing every, every last cent.And another thing I want to talk to, the bugbear of mine, of course, I had a look at the budget papers this afternoon, the suburban rail loop, right?So these are the 26, 27 budget, this wonderful mythical animal that is the suburban rail loop.While the government talks about the cost of living going up, the pressures of the war, the pressures of petrol prices, somehow the magical SRL is insulated from all of it.Again, they're saying it is expected to cost between $30 and $34 .5 billion.

For some reason in the forward S, it doesn't go up, it just stays the same, but everything else, the cost of thethe cost of building, the cost of roads, the cost of your speed come refined.Most importantly, the taxes that you pay, they go up.But the SRL, it stays exactly the same.the same.So I'll give you the breakdown of that, which is in the budget papers today.

So the state government will pay for a third, the federal government will pay for a third, and the third will come under this weird thing called value capture.And I'll explain to you later, because I was speaking to property experts about why that's not worth the paper that it's written on.So I think you need to be really careful when you read this budget and when you read the headlines and when the main line that Labor wants to say today, and look, they're well entitled, they're the government, they can say whatever they like, but essentially their top line is Labor is making life easier, safer and more affordable.So I ask, what do you think Labor