Victoria goes to the polls on Saturday to decide who will lead the state for the next four years. So what have voters been promised? And what differences are there between the parties’ policies?

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Jobs and the economy

When the Coalition came to power in November 2010, unemployment was 4.9%. It is now 6.8%, the highest of any state except Tasmania. The economy – and which major party is best-placed to manage it – permeates every other issue in this election.



The government points to the state’s AAA credit rating and its almost $2bn budget surplus to burnish its credentials as a good financial manager. It talks of creating 90,000 jobs since it was elected, but the truth is more complex. Many of those jobs were part-time, and job growth is failing to keep up with galloping population growth.

High unemployment is not all the state government’s fault, the national economy, as well as the global outlook, has at least as much influence. Manufacturing, once the mainstay of the state, is declining, and the mining boom that led to a high Australian dollar hurt the state’s manufacturing sector. The car industry, for instance, is about to fold.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A worker on the assembly line at the Ford manufacturing plant in Broadmeadows, Melbourne. Car manufacturing will cease in Victoria in 2016 with the closure of the plant. Photograph: Julian Smith/AAP

State accounts produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Victoria’s economy grew by just 1.7% in 2013-14, while New South Wales grew by 2.1% and Queensland by 2.3%. Western Australia’s outstripped them all with growth of 5.5%. The Victorian economy is slowing.

The talk is of an economy “in transition”. The question is, transition to what? That is what voters are anxious to know.

Coalition

The state government’s “jobs in the 21st century” plan pins its hopes on new skills, services and big spending on infrastructure. The plan was costed at $33bn, although many details are not yet clear.

The Coalition promises $100m for new skills and job programs. It says it aims to create 200,000 jobs over five years and 60,000 apprenticeships. More than $5bn would be spent to to deliver training for 850,000 people.

The plan includes existing spending on big infrastructure projects including stage one and two of the East West Link, expected to cost between $16bn and $18bn, and the Melbourne Rail Link, both of which are expected to create thousands of jobs.

The government also seeks to expand Victoria’s international presence with new trade offices in Singapore and Latin America, and more money to be spent on trade missions.

It believes there are opportunities for new and expanded industries in food production, pharmaceutical manufacturing, nanotechnology, international tourism and education.

Labor

Labor has announced a $1bn plan to create 100,000 jobs over four years, but has not specified how it will fund it. It says its first piece of legislation if it forms government will be the “Back to Work Act”.

Specific measures include payroll tax relief for companies that hire young people and the long-term unemployed. Companies would receive a $1,000 rebate for every eligible worker employed, similar to a policy now operating in NSW.

Labor also promises to establish a jobs and investment panel, an independent body of senior business and industry leaders that would directly advise the premier on how to spend a $500m fund for jobs and investment.

There would be a $200m future industries fund to support new job-creating projects in high-growth sectors such as pharmaceuticals, new energy, food and fibre and international education.

It has promised a $200m regional jobs fund to support projects in the country.

Greens

The Greens focus on a “fairer, freer, more productive and environmentally sustainable Victorian economy”. The party would spend money to boost the renewable energy sector, including wind energy, which it says would create jobs.

The Greens would introduce a state taxation system to provide more funding for high-priority areas such as health, education, environmental protection, public transport, and responding to the threat of climate change. There are no costings for these policies at this stage.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Codrington Wind Farm in south-west Victoria. The Greens are banking on a renewables-led economic recovery for the state. Photograph: Pacific Hydro Limited/AAP





Health

Concern about ambulance response times has plagued the government, with budget estimate papers revealing “code-one” response times for emergencies worsening during the Coalition’s four years in office. There have been several cases where people have died waiting for an ambulance that arrived late. It is one of the biggest health issues in the election.



The Ambulance Employees Union has long pushed for Ambulance Victoria and the government to release ambulance response time data. In October, the government blocked Labor’s bid to legislate for its regular release. Andrews has vowed to reintroduce the bill if elected.

A bitter two-year pay and conditions dispute between the union and the government – Victorian paramedics are paid less than those interstate – has festered, with paramedics angered by changes to rostering for country paramedics and attempts to remove a subsidy paid to union delegates.

In late October, the government agreed to drop those conditions to largely match what Labor was promising. The issue was unresolved when the caretaker period began. The union has been actively campaigning against the Coalition, attending events and appearing in ads and leaflets.

Coalition

The Coalition says it is spending a record $15bn in 2014-15 on health, and it has opened a new cancer centre, a new Bendigo hospital and invested in a raft of hospital upgrades.

New promises include $80m for technology upgrades at hospitals and health services as part of the Victorian Innovation eHealth & Communications Technology Fund, announced in the 2012 budget.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Victorian paramedics march at a rally in August. Photograph: Julian Smith/AAP

In a move praised by the Australian Medical Association, the Liberals have promised almost $7m to develop a real-time prescription monitoring system which would link prescription records and prevent the abuse of pharmaceutical drugs and “doctor shopping”.

Tasmania is the only state with such a system but a rising number of Victorians are misusing and becoming addicted to over-the-counter medications.

The Coalition has pledged more than $150m to tackle obesity, chronic illness and diabetes as Victorians continue to get fatter. In 2003 14% of Victorians had type 2 diabetes; it’s now more than 17%.

It has promised $38m for treatment and support services for ice addicts, a problem worrying regional and rural towns in particular. And the Geelong region will get $23m for the expansion of mental health services.

The government has significantly expanded mental health services including funding 11 new Headspace centres.

New promises include $71m for programs including for young children, those with eating disorders, suicide prevention, and for the mental health of the elderly.

Labor

A $100m ambulance package will include a $60m response time rescue fund to free up ambulances and allow paramedics to divert less urgent cases to alternative care providers. Labor also promises to end the long-running pay dispute between paramedics and the government, and will sack the entire Ambulance Victoria board if elected.

The opposition has promised $60m to rebuild the run-down youth mental health research institute, Orygen Youth, in Parkville. The institute’s executive director is Professor Patrick McGorry, renowned psychiatrist and former Australian of the Year.

It has promised a review of mental health as part of a landmark 10-year plan mental health plan.

A $20m violence prevention fund would seek to make health facilities safer for staff, patients and visitors. The promise follows a call from the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation to address reports of increasing violence in hospitals, which it said was fuelled by overcrowding and drug-affected patients.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Opposition leader Daniel Andrews and his wife Cath make their way from Orygen Youth mental health centre in Melbourne after announcing they would provide $60m towards its rebuilding. Photograph: Julian Smith/AAP

Labor has also promised $200m to build the Western Women’s and Children’s hospital in Sunshine to take some of the burden off the overstretched hospital there.

Greens

The Greens are pushing for more funding and greater transparency for healthcare. The party wants $50m a year to increase access to primary and community healthcare in rural and regional areas and $50m for preventative health measures outside the big cities.

This would all fall under the party’s $400m public health action plan to provide grants for health education, screening, community health and rehabilitation.

The Greens oppose money from the National Disability Insurance Scheme being used to develop privately run housing. They want vacant and underused public land to be used for publicly supported residences.

Education



Along with health, education is the issue Victorians routinely nominate as most important to them.



The big challenges arise from the state’s – and particularly Melbourne’s – rapid growth. There is a pent-up need in the surging outer suburbs for new schools and hundreds of millions of dollars in funding is needed to upgrade run-down schools. Also, as the population in the inner city and the CBD grows, there are more young children and increased lobbying from parents for new schools.

The Grattan Institute has estimated that Victoria will need 550 new schools within the next two decades – a huge number that will strain state resources.

The government this year announced it would build 13 schools in growth areas under a public-private partnership scheme that would mean the government paying consortiums to build schools and maintain them for 25 years.

The other major ongoing issue is vocational training. The government cut $300m from Tafe in 2012 and imposed a restructuring, decisions which particularly hit regional areas, already suffering high youth unemployment. When he became premier last year, Denis Napthine promised $200m for Tafe over four years for “innovation and structural reform”.

Coalition

The government has promised $1.2bn for new schools and upgrades to 200 schools over four years. It has also pledged $120m for capital works for disadvantaged Catholic and low-fee independent schools, a similar policy to Labor’s.

It has made a series of smaller announcements, including $15m for a new specialist school in Sale (something for which locals have been lobbying for 12 years), and upgrades to a number of schools.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Teachers, students and unionists rally in support of Tafe in Victoria. Photograph: Joe Castro/AAP

Under the Coalition, all prep students would learn a second language until at least year 10, with Napthine committing $6m for languages education. A $4m school safety grants program would be used for school repairs and to fix minor safety issues.

The Coalition has also promised a $100 cash rebate for the parents of all four-year-olds enrolled in kindergarten at a cost of $23m over four years. The policy was criticised by welfare groups because the payment is not means tested.

Napthine also announced $2.2m to fund 3D printers for every state secondary school.

Labor

Labor announced a $1.3bn education package as the centrepiece of its campaign launch, promising to rebuild and upgrade public, independent and private schools and vowing to make Victoria “The Education State” (even on the state’s vehicle number plates).

The money includes $510m to upgrade government schools, a $120m capital works program for needy Catholic and independent schools and $50m to upgrade kindergartens.

It has also promised to bring in reforms to improve education for children with a disability. Measures include adding a compulsory disability component to teaching degrees, introducing an early screening program for learning disorders, and curbing the use of physical restraint and solitary confinement.

The package includes $13.5m to fund 500 breakfast clubs at disadvantaged schools. It promises a $320m Tafe “rescue” package over four years to rebuild and reopen closed campuses.

Greens

The Greens promise to make Tafe a priority and restore its core funding. The party would would implement smaller class sizes, and re-establish the education maintenance allowance to fund student participation in camps, excursions and musical programs.

Transport



With Victoria’s population projected to reach 7.7 million by 2051, how to move more people around is a major issue. Traffic congestion, lack of public transport in outer suburbs and regional areas, and overcrowding on public transport are a result of surging population and lack of infrastructure spending in the past.



The debate is about more than roads v public transport. It is about the balance between those two. During the 2010 election campaign, the Coalition focused on fixing the public transport system, but in 2010 it said the $18bn East West Link to connect the western suburbs to the eastern freeway was the state’s transport priority.

An computer-generated image of the East West Link. Photograph: Victorian government

A lack of transparency around the costing and business case means the project has proved controversial, especially in inner-city areas where the road will mean homes being acquired, as this video highlights. But people travelling across the city from the outer suburbs are more supportive.

Labor opposes the link, but previously said it would honour contracts signed before the election. That changed in September, when Andrews announced that the opposition would dump the project if elected. The Napthine government signed the contracts for the project weeks out from the election and says Labor’s shift is irresponsible.

Tony Abbott has declared the election “a referendum on the East West Link”.

Coalition

The Coalition argues the East West Link is vital to tackle congestion and cut travel times for residents and businesses. It will also create thousands of jobs and boost the economy, the government says.

It estimates the road will deliver $1.40 in benefits for every $1 spent on the project, although that figure is contested.

The government emphasises that it is also committed to public transport. It has announced a $3.9bn plan for 75 new trains for Melbourne, 75 new trams and 24 new rail cars for the V/Line network. Napthine says it will mean the government will buy one train a month, every month, for the next 10 years.

All parties agree that Melbourne needs an expanded rail service in the city. For many years, this was the Melbourne Metro project, considered a priority by Infrastructure Australia.

In May, the government “realigned” it, calling it Melbourne Rail Link, which would take a different route. It also promises a rail link to Melbourne airport, although it is not due to be completed until 2024. Where the billions for this project will come from is not clear.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest East West Link: bring Melbourne together or tearing it apart?

The Coalition has promised to remove 40 level crossings, a $815m northern corridor transport plan to extend the South Morang line to Mernda, to duplicate Yan Yean Road, and provide extra station parking and more train services.

It has announced free tram travel in the CBD, and a capping of maximum daily fares at the zone one rate, which will save some commuters from the outer suburbs more than $1,000 a year.

Labor

The opposition says it will scrap the East West Link if elected, in favour of its No 1 infrastructure project, the Melbourne Metro underground rail tunnel, which will provide five new stations.

Again, where the billions required for this project will come from is not clear. Labor wants the Abbott government to transfer the $3bn it has pledged to the East West Link to the rail tunnel, but Canberra says it will not fund rail projects.

Labor’s transport policy platform, Project 10,000, includes Melbourne Metro, as well as promises to remove 50 of the worst level crossings; de-congest the West Gate Bridge; allocate a guaranteed $2bn for country and suburban roads and create 10,000 construction jobs.

Labor has also promised to start work on a 24-hour public transport project it dubs Homesafe. Late-night shuttles would take people back to regional areas at all hours, while trains would run through the night on Fridays and Saturdays across all lines.

Greens

The Greens oppose the East West Link, wanting to re-direct the money towards public transport and other priorities. It wants to increase V/Line services to regional areas and introduce secure bicycle parking at 40 train stations in Melbourne.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A rider cycles past street art in Southbank in Melbourne. The Greens have pledged more support for cycling as an alternative to more roads spending. Photograph: Miranda Forster/AAP

Law and order



At the 2010 election, the Coalition made crime a central issue, with leader Ted Baillieu claiming Victoria was being “eaten from within by the cancer of sickening violence”.



The government has kept its promises, with reforms including abolishing suspended sentences, tightening up parole, increased sentences, and reducing judicial discretion when sentencing. It also recruited 1,900 police officers over four years.

The result has been an “unprecedented growth” in prison numbers, according to an October discussion paper by the ombudsman. In June 2009, the state had 4,350 prisoners; by next year, it is expected to reach 7,169 inmates.

There is significant overcrowding, with the government forced to house some prisoners in shipping containers until a prison in the state’s west opens in 2017.

Recidivism rates have increased to almost 40%. The “unintended consequence” of refusing parole more often is that more prisoners are being released without any supervision or monitoring, the ombudsman said.

But crime has not declined. In 2013-14, the crime rate rose by 3.7%, the third rise in three years, mainly due to increasing family violence and drug-related offences.

Coalition

The government consistently says it “makes no apologies” for soaring prison numbers. It says its policies redressed the shortcomings of the previous Labor government, which it says was “soft on crime”.

The most significant announcement in this area has been a $367.8m promise to recruit 500 police officers, including 250 specialists to focus on e-crime, fraud and counter-terrorism.

As well, 450 police officers now used to supervise prisoners on remand and elsewhere will be freed up to return to active police duties. The government will privatise custodial duties now undertaken by police officers.

The Coalition has promised $367.8m to recruit 500 police officers. Photograph: Joe Castro/AAP

It has also promised 50 more protective service officers, that will take the total number manning train stations to 1,000. The officers will provide a “strike force” for major public events.

And a re-elected Coalition government would legislate to require offenders convicted of repeat killings or serious sex offences to be given an automatic indefinite jail sentence.

Labor

Labor has supported almost all of the government’s initiatives in law and order, an indication that they have broad support in the electorate. It has not yet announced whether it will provide more police numbers.

It has said it will repeal the government’s “move on” laws, which extended police powers to move people on who were preventing access to buildings, causing others a “reasonable fear of violence” or who were behaving in ways “likely to cause damage to property”.

Legal and union groups say the laws limit political protest and free speech. They followed prolonged protests at drilling sites for the East West Link.

Labor has made significant promises on human rights. It will reverse the government’s amendments to the Equal Opportunity Act which wound back the previous Labor government’s reforms. The aim is to restrict religious organisations, including schools, from discriminating against employers on the basis of their faith, sexual orientation, marital status, or gender identity.

Discrimination on these grounds would only be allowable when there was a “bona fide occupational requirement” that meant an employer needed to have a particular attribute to do the job.

Labor would also appoint a new commissioner for gender and sexuality to tackle discrimination faced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities. It will be based within the Victorian equal opportunity and human rights commission.

Greens

The Greens policy is to wind back many of the government’s law and order reforms, including repealing mandatory sentences for criminal offences and reinstating suspended sentences and home detention as sentencing options.

It would remove exceptions that allow religious bodies to discriminate on the basis of faith, sexual orientation and other factors. The Greens propose including homelessness and irrelevant criminal record as attributes to be protected from discrimination.

Family violence

For the first time in memory, family violence is a significant issue in an Australian election.



It has been driven by a number of high-profile and horrific family violence-related deaths. In April, Fiona Warzywoda was allegedly stabbed to death by her partner, Craig McDermott, after attending court over a family violence order against him.

An inquest is under way into the death of 11-year-old Luke Batty, who was killed by his father, Greg Anderson, in February. The father of Savannah and Indianna Mihayo pleaded guilty to murdering his daughters in April.

Rosie Batty leaves the coroners court of Victoria in Melbourne after a hearing into her son’s killing. Photograph: Julian Smith/AAP

The state’s police commissioner, Ken Lay, has made the issue a focus, particularly emphasising the need for significant cultural change towards male attitudes to women.

A number of family violence support services have formed a coalition to identify the 25 measures they want implemented by the next government.

Coalition

In October, the Liberals announced a $150m family violence package, which included $41m towards a prevention campaign in partnership with support organisation Our Watch.

It will also fund a multi-disciplinary centre staffed by police, sexual assault and family violence experts and child protection staff for women and children who experience sexual assault; a trial of GPS monitoring of high-risk perpetrators; behaviour change programs for men in prison for family violence offences; and additional legal support for women.

The government also announced an additional $4m to improve women’s safety in mental health services if the Coalition is re-elected. It has also changed several laws, including increasing penalties for breaches of intervention orders.

Overall, the government says it has doubled funding in this area since the 2010 election.

Labor

In May, Andrews declared family violence a “national emergency” and promised Australia’s first royal commission into the issue. Labor has not yet announced how much it is expected to cost, nor its terms of reference. The government says a royal commission is a waste of money and would delay action.

Labor would also give the justice system the capacity to deal with more family violence cases and support women in the workplace who are experiencing violence at home.

During the campaign, Andrews announced a package worth almost $23m to be used for services for women and children before the royal commission reports. It would fund practical support such as crisis accommodation and transport, children’s counsellors and other special care for young people who witness violence in the home, support the work of Domestic Violence Victoria to employ additional staff, and expand family violence courts and community legal centres.

Greens

The Greens would develop a $100m-a–year family violence action plan. They say they would fund support services and measures to keep women and children safe, and hold violent men to account for their actions and expand prevention programs.

Crisis support and housing services for women and children experiencing family violence would also be expanded, as well as measures to make the justice system safer. The Greens do not support a royal commission into family violence.

Planning and development

In May, the government launched Plan Melbourne, its blueprint to manage the city’s growth until 2050. It was designed to increase urban density and stop the endless spread on the fringe. The idea was to concentrate development where there are already services such as public transport and shops.

But the protection of Melbourne’s “leafy” suburbs has angered those in less wealthy areas, which will bear the brunt of new apartment developments. The zones divide suburbs into streets deemed “no-go”, where developments of more than two levels are banned, “slow-go” which allow for three levels, and “go-go” areas where up to four levels is allowed.

It is up to councils to propose their plans for where high-density development should be banned, but critics say that councils in the city’s leafiest suburbs have had greater success in convincing the planning minister, Matthew Guy, to agree.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A set of apartment blocks under construction in the inner-eastern suburb of Abbotsford in Melbourne. Photograph: David Crosling/AAP

Coalition

For better or worse, the Coalition government will be known for presiding over a spree of high-rise developments in its first term in office.

Since 2012, more than 39,000 completed apartments have been added to Melbourne’s inner city. According to Melbourne City Council, international investors are buying up around 85% of the property on the market, 40% of the CBD’s apartments measure less than 50 square metres.

The planning minister, Matthew Guy, has reportedly approved all but two of the CBD high-rise applications since 2010. Guy has insisted this development is appropriate for a growing city as well as being more transparent than ever.

The Coalition has said it will bring in new residential zones to “protect the natural assets” of the Mornington peninsula, a similar plan for the upper reaches of the Yarra river, a crackdown on underquoting by real estate agents at auctions and will develop a new port at Hastings and push ahead with the East West Link toll road.

Labor

Labor has promised a review of the zoning rules with planning spokesman Brian Tee saying the policy had “distorted growth and planning by forcing intensive high-rise development in some areas, while locking up leafy Liberal suburbs”.

It also wants to stamp out so-called “party pads”, which people rent for weekends or short stays for events such as bucks’ nights. It is an increasing issue in the CBD, now home to a considerable population.

Labor’s planning policy would also inclusionary zoning as an affordable housing initiative for land sold by the government for development, requiring a share of construction to be affordable to first home-owners and low income families.

Greens

The Greens want heritage buildings to be better protected, while renters should be given a “fair go” with minimum safety and energy efficiency standards. More affordable housing needs to be made available to help the 22,000 homeless people in Victoria, according to the Greens.

Environment

The environment, climate change, coal, clean air and water – all words and phrases you are highly unlikely to have heard from the Coalition or Labor during an election campaign where anything to do with the natural world appears to have been sidelined.

This stance has been noted by environment groups who claim that while Victorians overwhelmingly support renewable energy deployment, the current government does not, to the extent that the Coalition has been labelled the worst state government for the environment since the 1960s.

But the major parties have not been able to keep the environment entirely off the agenda. Clean energy advocates have railed against restrictions on windfarms, a band of Leadbeater possum lovers (and Sir David Attenborough) want a new national park in the central highlands and there are huge question marks over how long Victoria can keep burning huge amounts of highly polluting brown coal, even if it doesn’t envelop any more regional towns in a toxic smog.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The endangered Leadbeater’s possum licking a tree branch. Conservationists are pushing for a new national park in the central highlands. Photograph: Esther Beaton/Esther Beaton/Corbis

Coalition

The Coalition’s term in government has been highly damaging to the environment, conservationists claim. An emissions reduction target has been scrapped, a crackdown on windfarms within 2km of dwellings has helped to stall the sector and brown coal power stations continue to pump out carbon dioxide with no end in sight.

The government has also been criticised for allowing ongoing, heavily subsidised logging in areas environmentalists say are home to the Leadbeater’s possum, the endangered state faunal emblem. An attempt to abolish Victoria’s energy efficiency target prompted more cries of protest, as did the introduction of grazing in alpine country and a plan to build a spa resort within Point Nepean national park.

On the other hand, $4m has been pledged to eradicate foxes and wild dogs, nearly $13m to tackle weeds and feral pests and $11m on a plan, albeit much criticised, to save the Leadbeater’s possum.

Perhaps most tellingly, the Coalition didn’t release an environment policy before the 2010 election and, on the brink of the 2014 election, that doesn’t look like changing this time around.

Labor

While environmentalists don’t see Labor making huge strides on their favoured issues, the party has promised to wind back some of the contentious changes made by the Coalition.

Perhaps most significantly, Labor has said it wants to get the wind industry “up and running” by reducing the turbine exclusion zone to 1km from the current 2km. A further $20m will be offered in grants for renewable energy projects.

Labor has also promised to scrap the Point Nepean national park development, to remove grazing cattle from the Alpine national park and to retain the state’s energy efficiency targets. It has also committed to ripping up contracts for the East West link, which, the road’s opponents argue, will damage the environment and entrench car usage.

But Labor has not yet bowed to calls for a new national park to be declared in order to protect the Leadbeater’s possum, reportedly due to pressure from the CFMEU. There is also no plan to close down Victoria’s brown coal plants, nor any official commitment to bring back an emissions reduction target.

Greens

Unsurprisingly, the Greens have placed greater focus on the environment than the other parties. Under a Greens plan, Victoria’s most polluting power generators would be phased out from next year – starting with the Hazelwood and Anglesea plants.

The Greens want to use the state Environmental Protection Act to regulate carbon emissions, with a target of net zero emissions in Victoria by 2050.

Restrictions on windfarms should be eased, the Greens argue, while there should be a legislated right to connect solar panels to the grid. The Greens also want a permanent ban on coal seam gas (a moratorium ends next year) and no new coalmines.

The party also wants a ban on logging in water catchments, the removal of grazing from the alpine region and the outlawing of duck shooting. Ellen Sandell, the Greens leading hope of a lower house seat in Melbourne, has said support for a new national park to save the Leadbeater’s possum will be a condition of any minority government she would back.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ducks dumped outside premier Denis Napthine’s office in Melbourne in March. Wildlife activists from the Coalition Against Duck Shooting dumped the dead ducks in protest at the first weekend of Victoria’s duck hunting season. Photograph: Anastasia Cariotis/AAP

Integrity and transparency

With trust in government declining around Australia, there has been attention during the campaign on transparency and accountability issues. Before the 2010 election, the Coalition promised to establish an anti-corruption commission comparable to the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption. Labor had resisted a similar body for many years, saying it was not necessary.

But the establishment of Victoria’s Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission, has been controversial from its inception due to criticisms that its powers were far less than the NSW model.

Just before the caretaker period began, the government introduced reforms which went part of the way to addressing the shortcomings, although critics say they did not go far enough.

Other issues include Victoria’s political donation laws, considered the to be the weakest in the country, and ongoing controversies about the use of taxpayer money for government advertising that appear to be more about politics than informing the public.

Coalition

The Accountability Round Table, a non-partisan group of senior former judges, politicians and academics, several weeks ago sought policies from all major political parties on integrity issues. Its report card outlined that the Coalition intends re-introducing its reforms to Ibac if it wins the election.

Its reforms including reducing the threshold that needs to be reached before Ibac can launch an investigation and allowing the watchdog to investigate “misconduct in public office”, which the commission itself had requested. But it would not allow Ibac to use its coercive powers – including phone tapping – for preliminary investigations, a power available to Icac in NSW

The Coalition has reformed the state’s freedom of information laws, including establishing an independent FoI commission. It does not intend changing political funding or donation rules. Unlike NSW, property developers in Victoria are not banned from donating, and there is no cap on the amount that can be donated.

Denis Napthine and Daniel Andrews in parliament. Labor has pledged to to introduce parliamentary reforms, including banning “Dorothy Dixer” questions and reducing the time limit for answers. Photograph: David Crosling/AAPImage

Labor

Labor is proposing several integrity measures, including lowering the threshold that had to be reached before Ibac could launch an investigation, which goes further than the government’s reforms. It also opposes changing political donation laws, but would review and possibly revise the fundraising code of conduct “to ensure improved transparency of disclosure” and to minimise any perceived conflict of interest.

Labor promises to limit government-funded television advertising to those relating to health and safety and community wellbeing, such as road safety campaigns.

It also pledges to to introduce parliamentary reforms, including banning “Dorothy Dixer” questions and reducing the time limit for answers.

Greens

The Greens have extensive proposals for improving integrity, including giving Ibac powers equivalent to Icac and supporting an inquiry into the funding of political parties that would look at capping donations and introducing “real time” disclosures for donations more than $1,000.

It would reform FoI legislation to narrow exemptions used to block information being released.

Indigenous affairs

The results of the 2011 census of population and housing, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2012, revealed Victoria had almost almost 40,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, up 26% since the last census in 2006.



The state’s Indigenous population is also young – more than one in three are under 15 years of age.

Indigenous issues are largely the responsibility of the federal government, but it is also a state concern.

According to the Victorian Council of Social Service, which has released an Indigenous policy platform, key needs include integrated early childhood services for vulnerable Indigenous children, reducing family violence, and a whole-of-government plan for social change.

Policy announcements and costings around Indigenous affairs have been sparse during the campaign.

Coalition

No formal policy platform has been announced, though funding announcements for existing projects have been made under the current budget.

Labor

While no costings have been provided, Labor has promised several commitments, including supporting the preservation of Indigenous art forms and languages, working with the commonwealth to ensure that the dental health of Indigenous Victorians is significantly improved, and addressing the rising number of Indigenous people in the prison system.

Labor has also promised to develop a reconciliation plan for Victoria and introduce an Aboriginal affairs report to parliament. It wants Aboriginal content to be incorporated into mainstream education.

The party will aim to close the life expectancy gap within a decade and significantly reduce the mortality rate for children under five, and will aim to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in the development of health policy.

Greens

The Greens say they would invest $50m over four years in Indigenous affairs.

This would fund capital infrastructure and capacity upgrades for Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations; strengthening the Victorian Department of Health engagement with the Aboriginal health sector by adopting an Aboriginal roundtable and community conversations model; and continuing to advocate for cooperative action between the commonwealth government and Victorian government.

Animal welfare

The death of two horses after the Melbourne Cup this year placed renewed focus on the racing industry and the welfare of horses, however, jumps racing continues to be the most controversial area of the racing industry.

Even then, ABC’s online election survey Vote Compass found only 20% of 15,000 surveyed opposed a ban on jumps racing.

The opposition’s racing spokesman, Martin Pakula, says Labor will leave any decision on the future of jumps races to the board of Racing Victoria. And the Coalition will make no changes to jump racing legislation.

During the leaders debate between Andrews and Napthine, both said they supported duck hunting, much to the dismay of animal rights groups such as the RSPCA and Animals Australia.

Admire Rakti before the Melbourne cup. The collapse and death of the horse shortly after the race put the spotlight back on animal welfare in Victoria’s racing industry. Photograph: Patrick Scala/Getty Images

But both parties have made a range of commitments to curb “puppy farming,” or intensive dog breeding.

Other election priorities identified by a coalition of animal welfare groups include incorporating a duty of care component into all Victorian animal welfare legislation; outlawing all intensive breeding facilities; and an urgent review of breed-specific legislation.

Animal activists were angered in October when the member for Bass and former speaker, Ken Smith, called some of them “a bunch of rabid dills”.

Coalition

The Liberal party has committed $6m over four years to establish a “special investigations unit” for the RSPCA to help stamp out illegal and unethical intensive breeding in Victoria.

It has also promised to increase to RSPCA’s enforcement powers to better regulate and enforce welfare standards for domestic animals, particularly those housed in breeding establishments and pet shops.

Labor

Labor has vowed to improve the code for puppy producers by introducing a five-litter limit, bringing back compulsory breeding vet checks, and enforcing a limit of 10 breeding dogs for each breeder. Pet shops would only be allowed to sell dogs linked to a registered animal shelter.

It would provide RSPCA Victoria with an additional $5m over four years in funding to tackle puppy farms in partnership with local councils.

Greens

The Greens’ animal welfare policy is extensive. It wants to establish an independent regulatory body for animal welfare, and end farming practices inconsistent with animals’ natural behaviour. This would mean phasing out intensive farming practices.

They also say they would put an end to the capturing and killing of animals for the cosmetic and fashion industries, including the use of fur, and run a community education campaign on the needs of animals and society’s responsibility to them.

The implementation of sustainable farming and fishing practices is also important to the party so that any impact on native animal habitat, soils, water and climate is minimal.

Arts and culture



Only minor and micro parties – the Greens and the Basics Rock’n’Roll party – have ticked all the boxes of Music Victoria’s report card on each of the parties’ commitment to live music.



But the card says Labor’s policies are much stronger than the Coalition’s.

The Palais Theatre in St Kilda. Labor has promised to put $13.4m towards restoring the dilapidated live music venue. Photograph: Joe Castro/AAP

The fight to protect Melbourne’s Palais Theatre became a political issue when the musician Tex Perkins announced he would stand as an independent for Albert Park. Labor later announced $13.4m towards the $26m restoration of the Palais if it wins the election.

Coalition

The Coalition would fund a $35m redevelopment of the Geelong Performing Arts Centre, begin work on a new Geelong Convention and Exhibition Centre and spend $400,000 over four years to fund Music Victoria’s operations. It has also promised $1m for Music Victoria’s regional music action.

It would also provide a $500,000 live music noise attenuation assistance scheme which would mean residential developments built near existing live music venues would be responsible for noise mitigation features as part of the planning process.

Labor



The hallmark of Labor’s arts and culture policy is $22.2m to be directed towards strengthening the local rock music industry, including establishing a rock hall of fame and re-establishing music grants.

Labor has also promised to put $13.4m towards restoring the dilapidated live music venue, the Palais theatre.

It would give $100m towards redeveloping Geelong’s Simonds stadium and the Geelong performing arts centre.

Greens

The Greens say they will support and promote local artists and local projects. They will also develop the Southbank arts precinct.