Mr PALLAS (Treasurer) — I rise to advise the house of the government’s continuing investment in tackling the causes of crime and making sure that our police are resourced in the best possible way. In last year’s budget of course we invested over $2 billion in keeping Victorians safe through the community safety statement, and almost $2 billion in tackling family violence in Victoria. This is about taking police into the 21st century. It is about a sophisticated approach to keeping the community safe.

The Leader of the Opposition says that he has solutions to lower the cost of living, but really, he only has one solution — to lower his own cost of living by getting the Calabrian Mafia to pay for his lobster dinner. Victorians expect that their leaders are genuine and that they do what they say they will do. When this government said it is serious about crime, serious about tackling crime, it made the largest‑ever investment in policing …

The best way to support Victorians and to reduce economic inequality is to help them get into work, and that is exactly what this government is doing. We have created over 250 000 jobs — a quarter of a million jobs — since taking office, while those opposite have focused on the job of demolishing lobster and Grange in nefarious company. It is only Labor that has invested the additional funding for police to fight crime …

Only Labor that is serious about investing in additional frontline police — over 3000 additional police. They will have the resources to adequately enforce our consorting laws, and they will make sure that those people keep appropriate company.