MELBOURNE – John Pesutto has become a regular at the studios of Il Globo TV. During his last visit, the leader of the Victorian opposition said he would prepare to do the next interview in Italian. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite ready yet, but he is studying diligently.
Thanks to that same dedication, Pesutto continues to rise in the polls and is now only one percentage point behind Jacinta Allan as the preferred premier among Victorians.
Meanwhile, the Coalition has taken off with a primary vote of 37 per cent, ten points ahead of Labor at 27 per cent.
Last week, the opposition leader visited our studio with the Liberal deputy leader in Victoria’s upper house, Evan Mulholland, whose mother, Giovanna Caruso, comes from Lamezia Terme in Calabria.
The interview started with a discussion about the housing crisis, especially after federal shadow deputy minister for housing Andrew Bragg reopened the possibility of allowing first-home buyers access to their superannuation funds.
Bragg also suggested the possibility of halting the flow of federal funds to states (including GST revenue) if they fail to build enough homes.
“I think [being] given access to your own money is an idea worth looking at. You’ve got to tilt the scales in the direction of first home buyers and for too long they’ve been ignored by governments, both federal and state,” Mulholland began.
“[But] the CFMEU has caused a lot of issues in the construction of new homes. We’ve got a massive labour and material shortage caused by the state government,” he continued.
“[Victoria’s] Big Build, worth $40 billion of infrastructure blowouts, that’s having an inflationary effect on our housing market.
“Why would you work as a labourer on a new home [and] build in the outer suburbs when you can earn double that amount on a state government Big Build project?”
“Talking about housing prices,” Pesutto interrupts, “it’s worth remembering that Victorians pay more taxes than any other Australian state.
“Viewers will be feeling the pressure. We’re paying 30 to 40 per cent more to build a home than it would cost for the same unit or home in another state.”
Mulholland, an MP for the Northern Metropolitan Region, brought up the cost of the Suburban Rail Loop, now standing at $216 billion. He noted that the link between Cheltenham and Box Hill alone will account for $35 billion.
“That’s a huge portfolio of infrastructure that could be redirected elsewhere,” he said, before bringing up the “backwards” bus system many Victorians have to endure.
“The closest major shopping centre, Craigieburn Central, was completely inaccessible by public transport for residents of Greenvale.
“That’s ridiculous. You can’t have a situation where you can’t get to you nearest shopping centre by bus.”
Pesutto and Mulholland also discussed various hot topics such as public order and the Commonwealth Games. Pesutto referred to reports that Glasgow was bidding for the event after the Victorian government opted to pay a penalty of what he says will be over $600 million instead of continuing with plans to host the event.
“Youth crime has been out of control under this Labor government,” the opposition leader said when asked about crime.
“[We have] seen a huge explosion of crime and youth crime in Victoria, where people are already out on bail, committing more offences and then getting bail again.
“And this is because of the soft touch [with which] the government approaches our criminal justice system.
“But they’re also cutting funding to crime prevention programs that actually reduce people’s interaction with the criminal justice system and get young people on the right path towards rehabilitation.”
At the end of the interview, Schirru asked Pesutto if he was anticipating an electoral victory.
“What I would say is that we’ve been really determined as an opposition to show the case for change,” said Pesutto.
“But I’m always careful to say to my colleagues that the summit is not victory at the election.
“The summit is good government that Victoria desperately needs. We want to win only so we can give our viewers and all Victorians … a government they can be proud of and respect once again.”
