23.05.2024Annual Foundation member lunch with the Treasurer

We were very pleased to join members at EY’s offices for our annual Foundation member luncheon with the Treasurer of Victoria, Mr Tim Pallas MP.

Mr Pallas spoke about the Victorian Government Budget 2024-25 – his tenth budget as Treasurer. As always, we are grateful that the Treasurer was able to make time to take our members through the budget highlights and state of the Victorian economy.

His latest budget has seen a range of initiatives to deal with economic challenges including debt levels, inflationary pressures and costs of living increases. The Treasurer is committed to growing the economy and has flagged several areas of focus for the government, including developing a more efficient tax system, promoting innovation, developing stronger industries, and growing a skilled workforce.

The Treasurer was joined by Cherelle Murphy (Chief Economist, EY) for a discussion moderated by Mark Melvin, CEO, Committee for Melbourne to discuss issues of affordable housing, urban densification, infrastructure, and skills. Cherelle provided interesting insights on the state of the Australian and Victorian economies, including the challenges faced by the household and business sectors. Amongst many issues addressed included what could be done to mitigate inflationary pressures, especially in relation to the housing industry, which has seen building costs increase by 40% since 2019.

It was also pleasing to hear that the Treasurer is supportive of the Committee’s collaborative approach to policy issues and thought leadership. In particular, the Committee’s Benchmarking Report 2024, released in March, offers data-driven insights into Melbourne’s performance and we are pleased to have been able to discuss with the Treasurer how the budget supports Melbourne’s development, as well as opportunities to capitalise on the city’s strengths.

Thank you to EY for hosting, to Dean Yates (Managing Partner Oceania Government and Health Sciences, EY) for the engaging welcome, and to all the members who joined us for this exciting event.

Read our Benchmarking Melbourne 2024 report here

Read our budget response here, that includes a suite of recommendations for focus across areas such as energy and sustainability, skills, housing, planning and infrastructure.