James Newbury, Shadow Attorney-General

Friday 22 May 2026

Yesterday, two alleged arsonists, who reportedly pled guilty were let back out onto Melbourne’s streets. Our justice system is broken.

Not only is violent crime now an hourly occurrence across our city, but organised crime has clearly identified Victoria as the new place to do business.

Every night, organised criminals are using local youth offenders to commit deadly arson attacks.

Despite an urgent need, the Allan Labor Government has refused to include arson as a specific crime in their Adult Time for Violent Crime legislation.

The current legislation only lifts the following five crimes out of the Children’s Court: Causing serious injury intentionally in circumstances of gross violence; Causing serious injury recklessly in circumstances of gross violence; Aggravated home invasion; Home invasion; Aggravated carjacking.

In contrast, the Liberals and Nationals have committed to adding a list of new crimes to that legislation, including: Burglary; Serious Assault; Causing serious injury; Manslaughter; Rape; Attempted rape; Attempted murder; Kidnapping; Robbery; Arson; Trafficking a large commercial quality of drugs; Offences against children including trafficking (causing a child under 18 to engage in commercial sexual activity).

Shadow Attorney General, James Newbury, said: “Our homes aren’t safe. Our neighbourhoods aren’t safe. Our businesses and city isn’t safe. And all we get are platitudes from the Premier that the law is working. It’s not.

“We need to get tough, starting with a significant expansion to Labor’s weak Adult Time for Violent Crime legislation. If Victorians elect a Liberal and Nationals Government in November we will toughen that law immediately, including getting tougher on arson.”

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‘GOVERNMENT BUSINESS PROGRAM’.

Tuesday, 12 May 2026.

Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (09:51):

I rise to speak on the Government Business Program.

For a second week in a row we will not be opposing the Government Business Program. That is twice in this term; do not expect any more before the end of the year. That is the fill.

In terms of this Government Business Program, this Government Business Program deals with the two Appropriation Bills, which are, as the Leader of the House mentioned, important Bills. They are important Bills, and it is a very important opportunity for all Members to speak on the Government’s Budget and the short Budget speech that the Leader of the House referred to earlier as well.

We were all here last week for what turned out to be a much shorter speech than I think we expected. We were all sitting down waiting to hear about a 15-minute speech from a Treasurer who came in and delivered a speech in half the allocated time that she was provided. Of course she did, because there was not much to say. Other than a few announcements that had been made over previous days, there was not much else for them to crow about. And hasn’t there been silence since?

By contrast, as the Leader of the House alluded to today, the Leader of the Opposition has an opportunity at about 11 o’clock, for everybody watching, to come and outline our vision and our economic plan. We have a 10-year economic plan, which the Leader of the Opposition will speak to in great detail. I know that all Members on this side of the House will obviously show our Leader the courtesy of being in the Chamber. We were all here for the Budget speech, and what will be interesting to see is how courteous the other side of the Chamber is. In previous years they have been very discourteous in their attendance – but why would they be anything else? That is true to their form. We are excited to hear our Leader outline our economic vision because it is a stark contrast from what this Government has provided.

Other than a few media releases which have not had much substance, the Leader of the House spoke to the registration announcement. We of course, on the day it was announced, called for immediate payment. Rather than going onto the web and trying to find some form, which I am sure that half of Victorians will not ever be able to find – some hidden form – pay them the money. Why don’t you just give them a bill that has the cut built into it, so people pay less? Why not just give them the money? Why not just charge them less in their registration? Well, why would they, because this Government is mean, sneaky and tricky.

We will be announcing and speaking to our economic plan through the Leader shortly, and we are excited to hear about it, and I know Victorians are excited to hear about the stark difference. What you will notice with the Leader’s contribution is a degree of substance and a degree of thoughtfulness which will run in contrast to the 15-minute contribution of the Treasurer last week. What a let-down that was. It is no wonder that the Treasurer has gone AWOL since, because what has she got to sell? Not that she is a great salesperson, but what has she got to sell? You are going to be excited to be here in the Chamber; you are going to be excited to hear the Leader of the Opposition’s contribution.

I know that all Members of this place are excited to speak about the economic differences between this side of the Chamber and the Government. I note the Leader of the House was speaking earlier to allowing an opportunity for Members to speak on the Budget. I note that every year the Government cuts off the Budget debate, and last year over 20 – I think it was nearly 30 – Members of this Chamber were not allowed an opportunity to speak on the Government’s own Budget. Can you believe that? I mean, how embarrassed would you be about a Budget if you do not even allow your own Members to speak about it? So, I take the Leader of the House at his word and hope that he has improved on his predecessor and that Members of this place will all have the opportunity to speak on the Budget, because they should. In our case, we can speak to the neglect and the lack of foresight in the Government’s Budget. I do not know what the other Members will speak about on that side of the Chamber, but we will not be opposing the Government Business Program.

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‘APPROPRIATION (2026–2027) BILL 2026’.

Wednesday, 13 May 2026.

Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (11:53):

I rise to speak on the Budget Bills, the Appropriation (2026–2027) Bill 2026 and Appropriation (Parliament 2026–2027) Bill 2026.

Victoria needs fixing.

In November this State will have the opportunity to be fixed. I would say to every Victorian, ‘Here is your chance. In November you have that chance. You hav the chance to fix this State. If you elect a Liberal–National Coalition, we will fix this State.’ This State really needs fixing.

We have seen it both over the time of this term and over the last 12 long years of Labor, but you can put this most recent budget at the top of the list in identifying a Government that has both lost its way and fails to have a plan to fix the serious issues that all Victorians are now facing.

When it comes to a record of economic mismanagement that is, by contrast across this entire nation, the worst Government in Australia, this Budget clearly showed why that is the case. But more than that, when it comes to sentiment, when it comes to business, when it comes to cost of living and when it comes to crime and lawlessness on the streets, we have problems in this State, and in November we will have an opportunity to turf out this Government as they deserve to be turfed out and elect a Liberal–National Jess Wilson–led Coalition Government.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Juliana Addison): Excuse me, Member for Brighton, correct titles.

James NEWBURY: This budget was shameful – absolutely shameful. It is a $200 billion debt bomb that this Government is gifting not only to every Victorian but to every future Victorian. Paying back this debt bomb, which is now going off because of the baked-in interest that it is costing every Victorian, is unfairly shaping how Victorian taxpayers’ money can be used not only today but into the future. I mean, there is something so incredibly offensive about a Government that would recklessly use Victorian taxpayers’ money in the way that they have.

This Government has forgotten that every single dollar that comes into a Government coffer was first earned by a taxpayer – I often say the sweat and hard work of a taxpayer.

This Government treats the private sector and people who earn money with absolute contempt. Over the life of this Government what they have done is move the public sector into the centre of the economy and move the private sector out, crowding them out and treating them with contempt. The private sector has now across many sectors fallen to their knees. Is there any surprise? You look at the way the economy is now not operating, and you say to yourself, ‘Well, that is an obvious outcome of that decision.’

On the specifics of this Budget, we have a $7.7 billion cash deficit and, as I said, a $200 billion debt bomb. $32 million in interest payments per day is what we will soon be paying. That is dead money. So, Victorians are working to pay interest on an unsustainable level of debt. They are working to pay taxes to pay that debt, and their money is being flushed down the toilet. It is absolutely offensive. We see billions in tax revenue growth but at the same time cuts in things like public order and safety. At a time when we are in a crime crisis, the government is cutting public order and safety. It is absolutely outrageous. You would think that when more money is coming in and taxpayers are being taxed more, we would have the best services in the nation. It only makes sense that if you are taxing everyone more than every other state, you would have the best services in the country. What a joke. No Victorian thinks that. Most Victorians think we are being taxed the most and getting the worst services; that is how every Victorian feels. I will tell you what, if we are marking people on this Government’s service delivery, well, I do not think they are going very, very well. People are angry – they are absolutely angry – and so they should be, because their money is being wasted and the services are not up to standard.

On top of that, they are not safe in their own homes, as we know. Over the life of this Government, the reason we have got to this point is because we have seen this Government introduce or increase 67 taxes. We have seen a doubling of payroll tax and a quadrupling of land tax, and property taxes of course are now going to be increased following the broken promises of the Federal Government’s Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers. I will tell you what, you certainly would not trust them to keep their word – their word is worth nothing – but we know with Labor Prime Ministers that is always the case. We have seen many, many Labor Prime Ministers committing to never, ever, ever introduce taxes. Keating, Gillard and Albanese are all cut from the same lying cloth.

In terms of the new taxes, there are some big ones: emergency services tax, GP payroll tax, schools tax, short-stay tax, windfall gains tax, vacant residential land tax – all taxes introduced under this shameful Government. I want to talk about our alternative, and our leader outlined our 10-year economic vision. It is a vision that Victorians can believe in, rely on and trust. It is a vision that they can see from us, I hope, and feel sure about.

They can see an Opposition who will deliver good Government, who will fix the books and, in doing so, fix the State. What we have committed to is delivering a cash surplus by 2032, responsibly and in a way where we can make broader decisions to make sure we fix this state – not a fake surplus that has only been written into the books because of a dodgy backroom deal with a Labor donor, and we know that is what Labor has done, but a real surplus.

We have also committed to expanding upon our five strong tax cuts that we have previously announced, with two more. I want to spend a moment talking about those, because they are significant announcements, frankly game-changing announcements, that build to a tax cut narrative that Victorians have been hoping for and that business can rely on. If we can get the private sector to trust this future coalition government to bring money back into this state, this state will absolutely fly. We have committed to an increase in the payroll tax threshold of $1.1 million in year 1, $1.2 million in year 2 and a reduction in metropolitan payroll tax to 4.8 per cent in year 4, which will deliver relief to 23,000 Victorian businesses. For the most part that is 23,000 families, so you are talking about the best part of a hundred-thousand people who will be positively affected by that. It means the cost of hiring someone else is lower, bringing another Victorian into a job, because that is what we should be aiming for – encouraging the private sector to grow so they can hire more Victorians. Everyone wins, except the Labor Government and the public sector.

Secondly, our land tax relief package. This is important because there have been immoral decisions taken by this Government on land tax – not just wrong, not just financially wrong, but immoral. We will lift the land tax threshold back to $300,000 progressively. That will help 270,000 taxpayers. I have spoken about it in this house. I remember receiving contact, when the Government made that change, from a nurse, a single mum of a primary school–aged boy, who bought a one-bedroom apartment for her son. Her hope was that if she did extra shifts, by the time he became 20, in her mind, she would have paid off that one-bedroom apartment and she could give that to her son. The threshold change meant she was forced to sell it. I remember talking to her on the phone and she was crying her eyes out because she was a hardworking nurse who was doing extra shifts to give something to her son, and that is what this Government took away. We talk about numbers in this place, but our announcement on land tax means that nurse in my community has hope that they can build for their family’s future. That is what we believe in as a Coalition. We want to say to people like that constituent of mine: ‘If you work hard, we’ll back you. If you work hard, we’re not going to tax you.’ That is the difference: Labor taxes you; we will back you. That is why this particular commitment means so much to me, because I know how much it means to residents, not only in my community but more broadly. The average saving from that commitment is $975 a year. That is a big, big saving to mum-and-dad investors, and we know that it is mum-and-dad investors, mostly, almost solely, who will be affected by that.

We have also talked about a hiring freeze in certain sections of the back office of the public service. The Government has tried to start a scare campaign on that, but we know that Victorians can see straight through it.

The public service has grown by 60 per cent in 10 years. At the same time population growth has been just under 20 per cent. Victorians know there is a problem. In fact the Premier and Treasurer have admitted there is a problem, and that is why not only have they admitted a problem, but, as the Premier said, she has cut thousands of public service workers.

More than that – this is one of the most immoral parts not only of the Budget but of budget management and economic management more broadly – we know, in terms of budget management, the Government has also overseen at least $15 billion, but up to $30 billion, of corruption of Government money on Government projects and a Premier who has refused to look at where the money has gone and find it. How can you admit to corruption and corrupted money under your watch and then refuse to look for it? I think every Victorian knows the answer why. We will hold a Royal Commission, and I have said this: we will hunt people down and we will find the money, because it is not anyone’s money other than Victorians’. Every corrupted dollar has come from a hardworking Victorian, and we will find it. That will be a big difference when people go to vote at the end of this year: this Government does not want to find the corrupted money; we will. We will find the culprits who took that money, and that is a commitment to Victorians.

On top of that, we have committed to acting strongly on the crime crisis with more police. If you break bail, you will face jail; adult crime, adult time – important commitments. But at a local level I would say to the government: again my community has been let down. Brighton Primary School – shocking. We have had a primary school bathroom without a floor for a year – disgraceful. We have got no police station open at night. PSOs have just been ripped off our train stations, and the Government is trying to shove 20-storey towers into my community because of how much this Government hates my community.

This Government has got it wrong, but Victorians have a chance in November to fix this State. A Liberals–Nationals coalition will fix this State. This Budget is a shameful disgrace, but in November every Victorian will have the chance to fix Victoria.

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‘HALCYON WALK HOUSINGFIRST’.

Tuesday, 12 May 2026.

Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (14:32):

My constituency question is to the Premier, and I ask: when will the Premier ensure that the Halcyon Walk HousingFirst site of 152 social houses at 15 Centre Road, Brighton East, is safe for residents in the local community?

Following shocking and repeated incidents of violence at the site, my community is living in fear.

A female resident reported being verbally abused by a neighbour, with the abuse including repeated incidents of antisemitism.

Another elderly man has reported being assaulted by a neighbour who was allegedly under the influence of drugs at the time of the attack.

The assault has had a significant impact on his sense of safety and wellbeing.

Understandably, he is now fearful of leaving his apartment and is experiencing ongoing anxiety about further attacks by the assailant, who is still living at the site.

Further, another elderly resident reported a similar disturbance where a different neighbour was assaulted and left unconscious.

Many residents are so scared they refuse to leave their apartments.

Requests to Government Ministers are ignored and not acted upon.

It is time to make our community safe.

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‘GOVERNMENT BUSINESS PROGRAM’.

Tuesday, 5 May 2026.

Ask and you shall receive, Leader of the House.

We will not be opposing the Government Business Program, which has been proposed with simply one Bill today.

I welcome of course the new Leader of the House. Because it was his first go, I did not want to pick him up on the second-reading speech that he gave in the Government Business Program debate. I am sure that in future debates on the Government Business Program he will more understand the nature of the motion as being a procedural motion.

I know other Members across on the other side of the Chamber were agreeing with me. I do welcome the Leader of the House. I acknowledge the former Leader of the House and wish her very well in her retirement. But we have a new Leader of the House in the Chamber, and I am sure it will be more difficult for the Speaker to manage the both of us. I think it would be fair to say we both have a different style, and I suspect the two of us will in the best, most collaborative way butt heads in the Chamber, which is a good thing. I think that both of us will have a voice rather than simply one side having a voice over recent years.

This Government Business Program, as I say, deals with a roads Bill that is primarily around road safety. Without wanting to foreshadow the Leader of the National Party’s contribution on the Bill, anything that we can do to improve road safety is a good thing, so this Bill is an opportunity to deal with the measures that do just that. But as I say, I do not want to go into any great substance on the Bill.

I do want to also note that on Budget Day we on this side of the Chamber hope every year – the Leader of the House just moved a motion to allow a cognate debate on the Budget Bills – that everybody on this side and, frankly, every member of this Chamber will be provided an opportunity to consider the Budget Bills and to speak on the Budget Bills.

What I suspect will soon happen is next sitting week the Budget Bills themselves will move to the other place but we will have a take-note motion in this Chamber, which hopefully should in theory allow every Member to speak on it.

Sadly – and the Leader of the House may not be aware of this, so I am glad that he is here so I can let him know – last year there were roughly 20 Members of the Government who were not provided an opportunity to speak on their own Budget. I know that is a clear reflection of what the Government thinks of their own Budget – it is a stinker, is what it means. That also means that not all Members of the Chamber are provided an opportunity to speak on the Budget, and no matter how bad a Budget is – and this is a $200 billion bad one – the Government should not be afraid of allowing Members of the Chamber to speak on it. You would think that all Members would have an opportunity to speak on it.

So, I say to the Leader of the House here: I hope we do not have a repeat of last year. I would hope that all Members have an opportunity to speak on it so that in our communities we can speak of the neglect and financial mismanagement and the Government Members have an opportunity to read their talking points. That is okay; we know their talking points. But last year that unfortunately was not the case. So being Budget day I had hoped the Leader of the House would give me that wish – that we will all have that opportunity soon.

I would also say, with the Treasurer’s speech being so short, that that probably has provided the House with a little bit more time overall. I was looking at my clock and thinking, ‘Well, we’re about half the way through half an hour,’ and then it just ended. So, we have all been given the gift of extra time that we did not think we were going to have, with that short speech. I do hope that all Members have that opportunity. But as I return back to this, we will not be opposing this Government Business Program, which deals with only one Bill, which we will consider this evening, at the end of the day.

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‘BRIGHTON PRIMARY SCHOOL’.

Tuesday, 5 May 2026.

Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (14:10):

A year ago, termites ate through the floor and roof of Brighton Primary School’s junior building.

Although it took six months before State Labor replaced two floors, the entire bathroom block remains without a floor or roof.

What is worse, a stack of uninstalled toilets sit piled against a wall.

The neglect shown by Labor towards Brighton and Brighton Primary and our children is disgraceful and forgotten again in the Budget today.

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‘YALUKIT WILLAM NATURE RESERVE’.

Tuesday, 5 May 2026.

Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (14:09):

Working with a handful of supporters, we publicly advocated for the conversion of the former golf course into the blossoming Yalukit Willam Nature Reserve.

The Reserve was opposed by Bayside Council and State Labor.

The Reserve Association is the beating heart of this site.

If there was ever a plan to remove the Association, I would personally be at the front of every protest opposing it.

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‘BAYSIDE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION’.

Tuesday, 5 May 2026.

Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (14:09):

Making our kindergartens compliant will cost $65.3 million across Bayside kindergartens.

So far, state Labor has contributed $700,000 in my community and promised another $850,000 that has not even been paid.

The gap is a chasm of tens of millions of dollars.

Recently Bayside council was forced to consider centralising community kinder with the closure of current centres in Hampton because of Labor’s funding shortfall.

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‘KIM CAIN’.

Tuesday, 5 May 2026.

Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (14:08):

All of Bayside have full hearts as we wish Kim Cain well as he leaves St Leonard’s Uniting Church in Brighton Beach.

We will miss him greatly.

As he said at his cutting of ties, he is loved by our community and he loves us.

His 16 years at the church have been nurturing and guiding with a depth of spiritual leadership we will miss.

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James Newbury, Shadow Attorney-General

Wednesday 6 May 2026

Labor’s budget is being held together by Blu Tack and sticky tape, with the fake surplus being stuck together by one very big bad deal.

The Allan Labor Government has broken all convention, bringing forward a contract that didn’t expire until 2028 to lock Victoria into an almost half-century licensing deal with the Lottery Corporation.

The deal was done behind closed doors, without public tendering, and includes a windfall cash payment to the Government of over one billion dollars next year.

That payment holds up the State Government’s surplus.

Revelations that the Lottery Corporation has donated $177,000 to the Labor Party are nothing short of alarming.

The Premier needs to explain why her Labor Government has done a secret deal with a company at the same time as her Party accepts hundreds of thousands in political cash.

With Victoria already facing the worst corruption scandal in Victoria’s history, the Premier must personally explain the details around this secret deal.

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