Motion: Housing: Government Sledge Motion

MOTION:

‘HOUSING: GOVERNMENT SLEDGE MOTION’.

Wednesday, 18 March 2026.

Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (12:09):

The Government today has confirmed a plan we know they have had all along, and that is for radical change. That is what this Premier is about: radical change.

The Premier said, when she announced her activity centre policy – the first thing she said – ‘We are announcing this policy because we are going to grow Melbourne to the size of London by 2050.’ That is what the Premier said, that is a direct quote. Let me start by saying, setting aside what the number is, no Victorian has ever been asked whether that is the size they want their city. As soon as I started raising this issue, as soon as this was discussed publicly, guess what happened.

The Premier never started talking about the growth to 9 million people, because she realised there was no community mandate. When Victorians understood the only way for the Premier to achieve it was by packing in 20-storey towers in suburbs she does not like, Victorians understood what the Premier’s plan really was about. The Premier’s plan is about doubling the size of Melbourne.

Every Victorian – not just Melburnians – knows that the basics are not being done in this State by this State Government. Setting aside the budget for a moment, which is appalling, in terms of basic service delivery we have never seen our State in the level of decay, because of this Government’s lack of service provision, that we are seeing now. We are seeing people die on the street and then a Premier come out crying crocodile tears about it. People are dying on the street. The Premier is changing this State in a way that is disgraceful, because she is a radical. She is absolutely a radical, and you can see it today. The Premier has come out today to announce a radical change to our city that no-one ever asked for, no-one ever voted for, because she wants to double the size of Melbourne. What is even more insulting is she did it by driving 250 kilometres into the city to announce it and then driving all the way back out again – never in the suburb where she is from. Are there any 20-storey towers in Bendigo? There are none in Bendigo – no 20-storey towers in Bendigo – and neither will there be. What is happening in Bendigo is very interesting –

Members interjecting.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Iwan Walters): Order! There are a number of Members, who are not in their seats, interjecting.

James NEWBURY: Thank you, Acting Speaker; I very much appreciate your protection. There are no towers in Bendigo and no towers in Carrum, where the Minister for Planning is from. In fact, the Minister for Planning has had a career of blocking any development in her own suburbs and then saying that other people are blockers where they have called for amenity to be protected – what a hypocrite. The idea that you simply pack in towers in suburbs that the Premier does not like is disgraceful, and the community can see it. The great thing is the community can see it.

On Saturday the Premier thought she was clever to post her little meme about me again – I mean, find a new meme. What I would say is I made one point, and this is the point: the thing that surprises me – set aside the substance of her tweet and the issue – is after two years of driving Labor into an abyss she has never looked up and worked out if she is driving in the right direction. So, for two years –

A member interjected.

James NEWBURY: Twenty-five primary – mate, it is a historic abyss. I tell you what, the Victorian community has a very clear choice at this election and on this policy and more broadly on other policies a very clear choice at the election. We have made it very, very clear. We have said it today again: if you vote Labor at the next election, you get 20-storey towers and if you vote Liberal and you are in a community that does not want them you will not have them – they will be ripped up. I will go further, and I will be saying this very, very, very loudly: do not just vote Liberal and National in the lower house; you now need to start targeting your upper house vote. I think people like the Minister for Housing and Building ain’t gonna be here after the next election. Wouldn’t it be sweet to see someone like the Minister for Housing, who has been championing these outrageous policies, be the first to lose their seat in the upper house on election night? So, I would say to Victorians: you have a very, very clear choice –

A member interjected.

James NEWBURY: She is gone. Victorians have a very, very clear choice at the next election: if you want 20-storey towers, you vote Labor, and if you want to see the end of these towers and you are in a community that does not want them, you say ‘Liberal and National’.

That is what you say and that is how you vote. It is a very clear choice, just like on crime. If you want a Government that puts criminals first, vote Labor. If you want a Government that puts victims first, vote Liberal. These choices are now so clear. And you can see, it has not been said clearly enough, but it is so clear: the reason we have a crime crisis is because the Government puts criminals first. That is why. If you look at all the policies they have brought in over time to weaken the laws, it has always been about putting criminals first, always putting criminals first over victims. So, the Victorian community has a very clear choice at this election when it comes to housing, with a housing policy that was announced today, a housing policy no-one asked for. There is no mandate for it. And it is based on a Government that is doubling the size of Melbourne. That is what the Premier said on the first day after announcing her activity centre policy. Anyone can go and look it up. She said it on morning television.

Her first line was that she wants to grow the size of Melbourne to the size of London, which is 9 million to 10 million people – a doubling of the size of this city by 2050. It is what she said. She is on TV saying it, and Victorians can look at that and ask themselves whether anyone asked us if we want this city doubled. Did anyone ask? What does it mean? Set aside the final figure – what does it mean? How do you plan for that type of growth without putting out a proper plan of how you intend to do it? What does it mean for services – services which cannot even be delivered now? Everyone knows the services at the moment are atrocious. This Government taxes more than any other state, and this state gets the worst services. We say this all the time because it is true. Can you imagine being a State that pays the worst level of taxes and gets the worst services as a result? How can that possibly be? It is only incompetence. When you are paying for $15 billion of corruption you can understand why – at least $15 billion of corruption. When Victorians are being forced to pay $15 billion because of corruption that has occurred under the government’s watch you can understand why.

Victorians are going to have a very, very clear choice. The Government will say whatever they say, but this Government is led by a radical, and the plans of this Premier are radical. Radical change is the Premier’s plan. So, I would say to Victorians: ‘Use your vote wisely.’ Use your vote wisely in the Lower House and use your vote wisely in the Upper House, because this is the time for change. This is the time to stop the Government’s radicalism, including on this outrageous housing policy, which is nothing more than the Premier sticking her middle finger up to the suburbs she does not like.’