VICTORIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Coalition and One Nation to win narrow majority in Victoria’s upper house, new Roy Morgan poll finds

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Original article by Patrick Hannaford
News24 – Page: Online : 19-Aug-26

A new SMS Roy Morgan poll shows that the Victorian government would lose six of its 15 seats in the state’s 40-seat upper house at the election in November. The Greens’ representation in the upper house is projected to fall from four seats to just two. The poll also shows that the Coalition would be unable to reach an upper house majority in its own right at the election, with the Liberal and National parties projected to win a combined 11 seats. One Nation is in turn projected to win 10 seats, which would give the Coalition a narrow two-seat majority with One Nation’s support. Meanwhile, legislation to abolish group voting tickets passed the upper house last week, which will result in the number of minor and macro parties falling dramatically; they will also no longer be able to dictate the flow of preferences.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Costello’s formula to fix sickly Victoria

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Original article by Anthony Galloway
The Australian – Page: 6 : 19-Aug-26

Former federal treasurer Peter Costello will address an Institute of Public Affairs summit in Melbourne today. Costello will contend that although Victoria is in a "sickly" state, its financial position is "very serious" but not "hopeless". He will urge the winner of the election in November to adopt a " back-to-basics" approach to government, with a focus on core responsibilities such as roads, policing, schools, hospitals and affordable energy. Costello will also state that it will take at least several four-year terms in government to fix Victoria’s problems, and budget repair must be a priority for the next state government.

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INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED

Allan’s water bombshell: Secret Labor privatisation plan

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Original article by Anthony Galloway
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 5-Aug-26

Confidential cabinet documents show that Victoria’s Department of Treasury & Finance has been considering the privatisation of Melbourne Water since 2021. The documents also reveal that former premier Jacinta Allan and senior government ministers approved a business case in 2024 to investigate a partial sale of Melbourne Water. Reducing the state’s debt was cited as a key driver of the push to bring private investment into the water utility; however, some submissions on the proposal expressed concern about a voter backlash due to the perception that water infrastructure is a public asset. The proposal was put on hold but subsequently revived earlier this year, with the government appointing EY to examine options for privatising Melbourne Water.

CORPORATES
MELBOURNE WATER CORPORATION, VICTORIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, ERNST AND YOUNG

How Ben Carroll became premier – and the monumental task ahead

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Original article by Kieran Rooney, Patrick Hatch, Angus Delaney
The Age – Page: Online : 29-Jul-26

Sources have indicated that Victoria’s former premier Jacinta Allan does not intend to contest the state election in November, after resigning ahead of a partyroom meeting yesterday. Allan says she is confident that she would have fended off a leadership challenge but decided to step down to avoid a drawn-out ballot just four months before the election. Ben Carroll was sworn in as Victoria’s 50th Premier later in the day, after Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny withdrew from the leadership race. Carroll used his first press conference to announce that establishing a royal commission into the construction industry will be his first priority. He will also consider potential changes to the controversial Suburban Rail Loop project. Gabrielle Williams will succeed Carroll as the state’s Deputy Premier.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Turmoil as ALP Jacintagrates

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Original article by Shannon Deery, Matt Johnston, Ryan Bourke
Herald Sun – Page: 4 & 5 : 28-Jul-26

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan is expected to face a leadership spill at Labor’s partyroom meeting at 10am this morning. Deputy Premier Ben Carroll has confirmed via social media that he intends to pursue a leadership challenge, stating that Allan has clearly lost majority support in Labor’s caucus. However, Allan has advised state secretary Steve Staikos that she intends to nominate for the leadership in the event of a spill. Meanwhile, Allan demanded the resignation of six ministers and MPs – including members of both the Left and Right factions – on Monday after they urged her to step down; the members of the cross-factional delegation refused to comply with her request.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Allan referred to IBAC on Big Build deal

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Original article by Ryan Bourke
Herald Sun – Page: 11 : 7-Jul-26

The Victorian Opposition has formally asked the state’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission to investigate Premier Jacinta Allan, amid a growing scandal over the Big Build program. The IBAC referral is in regard to Allan’s former role as infrastructure minister; it has been alleged that her office had personally intervened in 2022 to ensure that the CFMEU secured control of the Gap Road Level Crossing removal project in Sunbury. Shadow attorney-general James Newbury says Allan’s alleged intervention could have increased the cost of the Gap Road project by more than $2m. Meanwhile, Allan has again rejected calls for a royal commission into corruption in the Big Build.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. INDEPENDENT BROAD-BASED ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION

Victoria’s public service wage bill to hit $45.5bn despite job cuts

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Original article by Damon Johnston, Anthony Galloway, Lily McCaffrey
The Australian – Page: 4 : 6-May-26

The Victorian government’s budget papers show that the state’s public sector wages bill is forecast to rise from $40.3bn in the current financial year to $41.1bn in 2026-27. Employee expenses are expected to keep rising over the forward estimates period, reaching $45.5bn by 2030. This is despite the government’s public service job cuts in response to a review by former bureaucrat Helen Silver; the job cuts are estimated to have contributed to government savings of about $4bn. Treasurer Jaclyn Symes says the government had been reducing non-frontline workers across the public sector, but she stresses that it is continuing to invest in essential workers such as teachers, nurses and police officers.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE

Victoria’s $199bn debt bomb explosion

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Original article by Anthony Galloway, Damon Johnston, Lily McCaffrey
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-May-26

The Victorian government’s budget papers show that an operating surplus of $727m is expected for 2025-26. This will rise to $1bn in 2026-27, well below the forecast of $1.9bn in the mid-year budget in December. However, the 2026-27 cash deficit – which takes into account expenditure such as infrastructure projects – is slated to be $7.7bn, although the previous forecast was $9.7bn. Meanwhile, yesterday’s state includes $13.8bn worth of new spending, while net debt is forecast to reach $199.3bn in 2030. Interest payments on this debt are expected to rise from $6.8bn in 2024-25 to $11.8bn by 2029-30.

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Allan handouts put Vic credit rating at risk

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 21-Apr-26

Victoria’s Premier Jacinta Allan has defended the state government’s decision to extend cost-of-living relief for public transport users. Allan says the government’s strong budget position means it can afford to extend the fare-free period until the end of May, followed by half-price fares for the rest of the year. However, S&P Global Ratings analyst Martin Foo says policies that were initially meant to be temporary can be hard to unwind, and could potentially jeopardise the state’s credit rating.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, S&P GLOBAL RATINGS

Allan government blocks Big Build document release

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 15-Apr-26

The Victorian government has been criticised for blocking the bulk of a freedom of information request for documents pertaining to corruption on the ‘Big Build’ project. Liberal MP David Davis sought access to documents covering the period from 2020 to 2025. The Department of Premier & Cabinet identified a total of 1,082 pages of such documents, but only 132 pages were released; some of these were partially redacted, and were restricted to documents created after July 2024. Davis says the suppression of documents is "outrageous" and it is not credible that Premier Jacinta Allan’s own department is blocking the release of information that is clearly in the public interest.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA