Victorian budget
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Victorian Parliament
Melbourne Water tapped the state for extra cash – to pay it back for an unexpected tax bill
The water authority borrowed additional money from a Victorian government entity – and paid interest to the government – so it could pay a tax to the same government.
- by Rachel Eddie
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Doctors fear elective surgery lists will blow out again
Victoria blitzed elective surgery waiting lists down after the pandemic, but looming health cuts threaten to blow them out again and force more people to take out private health insurance.
- by Jewel Topsfield
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Healthcare
Victoria’s primary care clinics face funding cuts in budget crisis
Priority primary care clinics, promised in 2022 as Daniel Andrews’ solution to the health crisis, are facing cutbacks as the Victorian budget grapples with debt.
- by Rachel Eddie and Kieran Rooney
Mental health programs in firing line of hospital budget cuts
As hospitals continue to search for savings, Victorian mental health programs, including those for children, could be hit with redundancies and hiring freezes.
- by Kieran Rooney and Rachel Eddie
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Payments
Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry makes millions from increasing certificate fees in cost-of-living crisis
The Greens will introduce a bill in the next sitting week in an attempt to block further privatisation of government services.
- by Broede Carmody
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Hospitals
Secret recording reveals sense of budget crisis in Victorian hospitals
Bed and ward closures, reducing elective surgery, cancelling breast screenings and even closing special-care cots were all openly discussed as possibilities to save money.
- by Chip Le Grand, Jewel Topsfield, Henrietta Cook, Benjamin Preiss and Broede Carmody
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Private schools
The elite schools hardest hit by Victoria’s payroll tax change
Some high-fee schools will pay more in taxes than they get in state funding, according to opposition analysis. Find out which ones here.
- by Rachel Eddie
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Victorian Parliament
Victoria set up an offset account to save money. Then it went into the red
An account meant to help drive down Victoria’s borrowing costs was instead put into overdraft, forcing the government to find hundreds of millions of dollars to repay it by the end of this financial year – and possibly billions in the next.
- by Annika Smethurst
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Privatisation
Births, Deaths and Marriages – and more? Victoria’s quiet review of its public assets
Treasury sought advice from investment banks earlier this year as part of a review to see how much money could be raised from privatisation of public assets.
- by Broede Carmody and Sarah Danckert
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Victorian Parliament
Inside the push to steal – and keep – Victoria’s businesses
Outside the public eye, the highest-taxing state in the nation is fending off threats from South Australia and Queensland to steal Victorian businesses.
- by Kieran Rooney
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For subscribers
Victoria poised to privatise births, deaths and marriages agency as Labor eyes debt
With the state’s daily interest bill at $25 million, Treasurer Tim Pallas is in talks with private firms to gauge their interest in running part of Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria.
- by Broede Carmody and Cameron Houston