Ms ADDISON (Wendouree) (13:48): I am very, very pleased to be on my feet today. This is the first time I have ever spoken on the government business program, so I am thrilled to follow the member for Rowville and the member for Bendigo East, people who provide a great example to us of what to do when you are on your feet. It is great to be here with both of you today.

Today is also a very special day, not just because it is budget day but also because it marks two years since the 2018 election, so a very, very important date in terms of recognising the many great things that the Andrews Labor government has done. It is a moment to take stock and say, ‘Wow, two years in this job’.

I was thinking about what a great two years I had had and how much I had learned. I thought I would be following the member for Rowville, so I looked it up and I would like to acknowledge his 28 years in the Parliament. I looked the other day and I saw ‘28 years in the Parliament in October’. So while I am very excited to be on my feet and acknowledging—

Mr Wells interjected.

Ms ADDISON: They play in Ballarat—Western Bulldogs. I am very happy that we have them in Ballarat. Two years is very good.

As the Leader of the House and the opposition manager of the house have noted, we are going to be talking about four very important bills this week: the Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment Bill 2020, the Appropriation (2020–2021) Bill 2020, the Appropriation (Parliament) Bill 2020 and the State Taxation Acts Amendment Bill 2020.

It was good to know, because I had to ask the question as a new person: what is the difference between the appropriation bill and the appropriation Parliament bill? And I was told that the Parliament bill is about having the money to run our Parliament and to make sure that our library is funded, and our gardens and our committees and everyone who works in the Parliament. So I would just like to take the opportunity to thank everyone, particularly the staff who are in the chamber at the moment, for the amazing job they do and the support they give us all. We really, really do appreciate the work you do.

I will just seize the opportunity to thank the Minister for Transport Infrastructure for the great announcement about Melbourne Airport rail. What a great day for regional Victorians, particularly my community of Ballarat, as well as Bendigo and even regional Victorians in Gippsland, who will be able to jump on the train and have a direct run through. I am sure the member for Gippsland South’s constituents will be very pleased with that announcement as well.

I really am looking forward to having my opportunity to contribute to the debate on the appropriation bill on Thursday. The Treasurer and his team have done so much work to bring this together in the most extraordinary of circumstances. What is really great about this budget is the diversity of it, so I really look forward to being able to make a contribution on what it means to my community of Ballarat and what it means to Victoria more broadly, because there are some very, very good announcements there as well.

As the Leader of the House has already mentioned, this is a big and busy agenda that we are addressing this week in the house, and I am so pleased that we have got, if not support, not opposition, as stated by the Manager of Opposition Business. But I will take ‘not opposition’ over opposition today, because I think that is a very good thing.

The take-note motion will be a real opportunity for us to do a deep dive into the budget. It is a very, very substantial budget that we do need to explore so we can really explain to people across Victoria how every single postcode in Victoria will benefit from this budget.

On that note I look forward to continuing to contribute to the government business program. I have done my first one now, and I thank the opposition for being so kind to me as I have made my way through it. I look forward to contributing again in the future.

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