REACTION TO THE 2025/26 VICTORIAN BUDGET
PROPERTY AND BUSINESS GROUPS
"It has come to something when the confirmation of no new business taxes is presented as good news" - Gavan Ord, CPA Australia business policy adviser
"It's difficult to avoid the conclusion of what matters most to Victorian government is getting re-elected" - Keith Ryan, Housing Industry Association Victoria executive director
"It's a good thing we weren't expecting too much" - Tim Piper, Victorian head of the Australian Industry Group
"While we welcome no new taxes and the operating surplus, the incentives to grow and propel the private sector are modest" - Paul Guerra, Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive
UNIONS
"There is absolutely no doubt that the budget does not deliver for parents, for students, for teachers and other staff in our schools" - Justin Mullaly, Australian Education Union Victorian branch president
CHARITIES AND NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS
"Today the Victorian government has shown once again that the lives and futures of Aboriginal children and young people don't matter" - Nerita Waight, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service chief executive
"Doubling the current food relief budget means that regardless of whether you're in regional or metropolitan Victoria, you now have much better access to healthy food" - Dave McNamara, Foodbank Victoria chief executive
"For young people to get on public transport for free is really welcomed" - Farah Farouque, Ethnic Communities' Council of Victoria chief executive
TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT
"It's fantastic to see transport put at the forefront and investment in public transport" - Chloe Aldenhoven, Friends of the Earth Melbourne campaigns co-ordinator
"It doesn't fix every problem by any means but it's a good step forward" - Daniel Bowen, Public Transport Users Association spokesman
"Victoria cannot have a healthy and sustainable infrastructure investment program in the long-term without prioritising healthy and sustainable balance sheets in the short and medium-term" - Adrian Dwyer, Infrastructure Partnerships Australia chief executive
HEALTH
"I'm really pleased today to be able to see the $31 billion investment to Victoria's publicly funded health care services" - Leigh Clarke, Victorian Healthcare Association chief executive
"While we're injecting huge sums of money into our hospital system, the reason that we're needing to do that is that we're failing to care for people closer to home" - Anna Robinson, Community Health First chair
CREDIT RATINGS AGENCY
"Victoria's fiscal outlook is slowly improving after several years of yawning deficits and rapidly rising debt" - Rebecca Hrvatin, S&P Global Ratings analyst
POLITICIANS
"This is a responsible budget" - Treasurer Jaclyn Symes
"This is a budget that delivers cost-of-living help when it matters most" - Premier Jacinta Allan
"This budget is simply a shopping list" - Shadow Treasurer James Newbury
"You can't fix a cost-of-living crisis by continuing to increase taxes" - Opposition Leader Brad Battin
"The treasurer's speech didn't mention climate change or the environment once - that's a massive red flag" - Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell
"A missed opportunity to deliver economic outcomes for regional Victoria" - Shane Sali, Regional Cities Victoria chair and mayor of Greater Shepparton
