VICTORIANS cannot afford life under Labor and it only gets worse from the start of this month.
Since 2014, Premier Daniel Andrews and Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan have hit Victorians with 49 new or increased taxes. In the new financial year, they will continue to slam you with more increases.
The cost of living will rise further, with expenses such as paying rent top of mind for many Victorians. Rents have swollen by 30 per cent since 2020, and Labor’s decision to again impose higher taxes and charges on property owners is putting more renters under more financial stress.
At the supermarket, the impact is obvious. Families, on average, are being forced to spend $1565 more on groceries this year than last.
According to Foodbank Victoria, the demand for their services and resources currently outstrips the demand during flooding, bushfires, and the pandemic.
“This is the worst I’ve seen it in 15 years,” Foodbank Victoria chief executive David McNamara said recently.
Foodbank’s school breakfast program was increased by 40 per cent across the past year, with 2.4 million extra meals delivered to students in need.
Labor has ignored calls from industry experts for a sensible transition to renewables.
Instead of listening to advice, Labor’s leaders locked up gas reserves, leaving Victorians without a transition energy source, and they succumbed to the Greens to prematurely shut down coal power generation.
As a result, hardworking Victorians are paying skyrocketing power bills that will go up by a further 25 per cent after 1 July.
Public transport expenses will be growing by 8.7 per cent, with Labor slyly increasing a day pass to $10 – with another rise scheduled for six months’ time.
It’s a sad time for drivers, too, with car registrations increasing another $12.50 and licence renewals increasing by $3.40 a year.
And don’t forget Labor is cutting 4000 people from the public service, but hardworking Victorians are paying more tax to service Labor’s highly paid fat cats.
Labor continues to push more responsibility and shift more costs onto local councils to prop up a broken state budget, leading to increased council rates of up to 3.5 per cent.
The Nationals were successful in implementing a parliamentary review into Labor’s cost shifting onto local councils in a crucial step to bring rates down and ensure Victorians get value for money.
However, Victorians are being punished by Labors incompetence right now and, based on Anglicare Australia statistics, single parents fall $180 short every week and a family of four only has $73 left after paying essential weekly expenses.
With taxes and charges continuing to soar, it is obvious why Victorians can no longer afford life under Labor.
Peter Walsh
Leader of The Nationals
Member for Murray Plains
