Doing What Matters – Campaign Launch Speech

Cath and I are teaching our kids to work hard, and to do what matters.

Why? Because it’s what my parents taught me.

I don't know if I’ve ever known anyone who worked harder than my old man.

“Driven” would be an understatement.

He’d get up early, go to work, come home, go to bed.

And the next day, he’d do it all over again.

It was only really when he got sick that he finally took it easier.

And only then, because the cancer gave him no choice.

In some of the last moments we spent together…

I remember thinking about how hard he’d worked, how much he’d given.

And how unfair it was that he was being robbed of those later years.

Of something a bit gentler… something a bit slower.

But the truth is… I don’t think he ever would’ve slowed down. Not really.

It wasn’t so much that work gave him purpose. But that he worked with purpose.

Always purpose.

He did it, because like so many of that generation, he’d seen good times turn bad.

And because he'd hoped for something easier for his family.

He and mum wanted something for us kids that they had never had:

A future decided by who we were and what we could do.

Not by who they were, how much they earned, or where we lived.

Both of them instilled in us that deep sense of fairness.

They talked about it, and we saw them live it.

Dad was always helping people. Lending people money, giving people things.

Always looking after someone. And always on the quiet.

With mum, it was a sense of service. Something she’s lived by her entire life.

Together they taught us that if you’re lucky enough in life…

Lucky enough to grow up healthy.

Lucky enough to get a good education.

Lucky enough to feel loved and supported and connected.

And let’s face it, a lot of that really is luck.

Then with that opportunity, you have an obligation.

An obligation to work hard.

To give back.

To leave the place better than you found it.

I learnt more from their example than I ever knew… probably will ever know.

But I also know their example is not unique.

I know it, because I see it here today.

A room full of people who live those values:

To look after people.

To work with purpose.

To do what matters.

It’s an idea that inspires our labour movement. And that energises this Labor Government.

And since coming to government, we have used every single day with purpose.

I don’t need to give you some long laundry list of everything we’ve done.

I don’t need to, because you can see it.

You can see it in every street and town and suburb in our state.

Once dormant, cranes now dominate our skyline.

Underground, we’re just as busy, building the transport network of the future.

And from Wodonga to Warrnambool, we’re building the road and rail, schools and hospitals that country communities deserve. Because really, it’s only ever Labor that invests in regional Victoria.

We’ve installed solar panels on hundreds of thousands of homes, cutting power bills and stamping our state as Australia’s renewables capital.

Our TAFEs, once padlocked shut, are now open, and filled with Victorians studying for free.

And because of our investments in Three-Year-Old Kinder, our kindergartens and child-care centres are buzzing. Busy with little ones playing and learning skills for life.

Under our watch:

67 levels crossing are gone. 74 new schools, built. 1850 school upgrades, complete or underway

22 new and improved hospitals, delivered. And 26,000 more healthcare workers, now on the job.

You see that transformation in smaller, but no less meaningful ways too.

A few weeks back, I visited the Arden site of our Metro Tunnel build.

As our tour ended, one of the manitou drivers approached me.

I thanked him for his work, and asked him how long he’d been on the project.

Since day one, he told me.

We shook hands, and he said: “I tell my kids and grandkids that this is my Snowy Mountain Scheme”.

It’s something our movement has always understood:

A job is more than a pay cheque.

It’s pride. And it’s purpose.

It’s why, when we came to government, we promised we’d get Victoria back to work.

Since then, we’ve created nearly 600,000 jobs. More than 300,000 since September 2020.

But it’s not just jobs. We want them to be good, secure, safe jobs.

It’s why we introduced Australia’s first-ever wage theft laws.

And it’s why we made workplace manslaughter exactly what it is: a crime.

But when it comes to making Victoria stronger, safer and fairer, our work is far from over.

And in every community and in every corner of our state, there are families who rely on a Labor Government.

And right now, our childcare system isn’t working for so many of them.

Mums and dads are sitting around kitchen tables, doing complicated sums – trying to weigh up whether it’s really worth going back to work. And that’s if you can find a childcare place.

Not only is it hurting family budgets, it’s hurting our state’s bottom line too – taking more than 26,000 women completely out of our workforce and costing our economy $1.5 billion a year in lost earnings alone.

It shouldn’t be this hard.

It’s why we’re making kinder completely free from 2023, saving families thousands of dollars in fees and giving more women more choice about returning to work.

We’re also delivering 50 government-owned and operated childcare centres – a high-quality low-cost option for communities that need it most.

And we’ll get started on a once-in-a-generation reform:

Pre-Prep, an extra year of learning that will give our kids everything they need to be their best.

It’s the kind of big, bold, ambitious change that will change lives.

Change that’s only ever delivered by a Labor Government.

Our positive plan doesn’t end there.

We’re making a degree in nursing and midwifery free. And delivering a $5000 sign-on bonus for nursing and midwifery graduates joining our public system.

We’ll make regional train fares, well, we’ll make them fair, capping them at metro prices.

And we’ll continue work on Suburban Rail Loop, connecting our suburbs and our state.

All the while creating thousands of Victorian jobs for Victorian workers.

There’s something else I want to be really clear on:

Privatisation of our electricity system has failed.

Those big companies have leached megaprofits out of pensioners and families. And now, they’ve told us they’re leaving.

It’s why we’ll return government-ownership of energy, bringing back the SEC, and powering our state with cleaner, cheaper renewable energy.

For people, not profit.

Renewables will replace coal. And government will have a majority interest in projects – ensuring they’re owned by Victorians for Victorians.

The Latrobe Valley has powered our state for more than 100 years.

Thousands of Victorians, men and women, who have, quite literally, kept the lights on. 

The Valley has a proud legacy. And we want to make sure it’s a bright future too.

It’s why we’ll establish an SEC base in Morwell…

Making sure this community and this proud region are at the heart of our clean energy future.

It’s really what the SEC was about. 

For generations, a job with them meant security.

And for young people, it meant a pathway. From the first day of your apprenticeship, to your last day on the job.

We want to bring back the SEC, and with it, that sense of opportunity.

It’s why today I can announce, that as part of our plan to revive the SEC and create 59,000 clean energy jobs, at least 6000 of those jobs will be for apprentices and trainees.

And because it’s no coincidence that ever since privatisation we’ve seen shortages in so many trades…

Our new SEC will help us find the next generation of tradespeople:

Maintenance workers, lineys, electricians. But also welders, painters and mechanics.

Highly-qualified, highly-paid. Working not for profit, but for people.

And to make sure there really is that long-term pipeline of work…

We’ll institute local content requirements on state-owned and supported renewable energy projects, worth at least $5 billion by 2035.

Under Labor we make our trains in South Dandenong not in South Korea. And it’ll be the same for so much of our Energy Big Build too.

We also want to make sure those workers and apprentices have the right skills – which is why we’ll establish the SEC Centre of Training Excellence – coordinating and accrediting courses, and working across our TAFEs, RTOs, unions and industry.

But setting our kids up for success, that doesn’t need to wait until after school.

Already, we’re overhauling vocational education, with schools offering TAFE courses in the classroom.

From health to construction, early childhood to engineering, these certificates are focused on the skills we need now, and for the future.

And today I can confirm, clean energy will be added to that list.

It’ll make our classrooms custodians of our clean energy future – and it’ll mean our kids finish school with a head-start in a hands-on profession.

We’ll also make sure that across our government schools, and at every careers night, the SEC are there. Not just looking for workers of the future. But actually recruiting them.

What’s more we’ll support 10,000 secondary school students with a week of work experience – giving them a taste, and training, in clean energy, as well as other in-demand careers like nursing, trades and early childhood education. Work experience that’s a meaningful start to not just a job, but a career.

Friends, as I said, we are bringing back the SEC.

It’s about more than just electricity. It’s opportunity.

Opportunity for tens of thousands of workers, families and communities.

Power for Victorians, powered by Victorians.

It’s a reform that will change our state for good.

Replacing offshore profits with offshore wind – renewable megawatts instead of greedy mega-profits.

And it’ll drive down the cost of power for Victorian families.

But getting it up and running, it’ll take some time. The most important things always do.

So, when it comes to helping families, already struggling with ever-increasing electricity costs – there’s no time to waste.

Already, our Power Saving Bonus has helped more than 1.6 million families with their energy bills, this year alone. And today I can announce, under a re-elected Labor Government – we’ll make sure there’s even more to save.

From March next year – and ahead of next winter – we’ll release another round of the Power Saving Bonus – providing an extra $250 for every Victorian household.

It’ll also help families shop around. Because these companies rely on you not being on the best deal. In fact, they bank on it.

It’ll mean more money in your pocket now, plus savings each year, every year.

Because that’s the difference.

While some value profit – we value people.

Now I want to do something a little bit different.

In this job you get to meet a lot of different people.

Sometimes at the best moments of their lives, sometimes at the hardest.

And from floods to bushfires and everything in between…

I’ve been privileged to meet Victorians from every background and every walk of life.

But without a doubt, some of the most incredible people I’ve ever met are the parents and carers of kids with disability.

And today – I’d like you to meet them too.

[Video plays]

An incredible group of Victorians, who I’m truly honoured to know.

And earlier this year, we sat down to talk.

Rather: they talked, and I listened.

They told me about their kids.

Their incredible, joyful, loving kids.

Nicky who loves puzzles.

Zara who loves being outdoors.

And Jiraiya who’s the world's biggest Wiggles fan.

They told me about their challenges too.

About the relentless struggle – day in, day out – burdened by a system that feels like it’s been set up to fail them, and their families.

It’s hard to imagine without having lived it yourself.

But for these families, nothing comes easy.

It’s an unrelenting grind to ensure their child, like any child, can grow up happy and healthy and the best they can be.

As one parent told me, “we fight so hard for so long – sometimes we miss out on our kids being kids.”

No parent should have to fight that hard.

No parent should have to fight at all.

It’s about time they had someone fighting for them.

Today I can announce a $207 million package that will transform our specialist schools, and with it the lives of their students, parents and families.

It builds on our existing investments in inclusive education:

Expanding support for students in the classroom.

Delivering new accessible playgrounds and sensory gardens.

And upgrading every specialist school in the state: every single one upgraded by Labor.

All told, it’s an investment worth $3 billion.

An investment that’s worth every cent.

But as you heard, and as they told me, there’s still so much more to do.

Perhaps one of the greatest challenges these families experience – there’s just no afterschool or holiday care available for their kids. And if you can find it, it’s so expensive.

We’ve been piloting afterhours care in five specialist schools across Victoria.

And the results are clear.

Kids showed an improvement on all measures: from educational to emotional.

Parents reported an improvement to their wellbeing, and the whole family’s wellbeing.

And 92 per cent of mums and dads had either taken up, or were planning to take up, additional work or study.

It’s the kind of practical policy that just makes sense.

It’s good for parents, good for families, good for kids – and it’s good for all of us too.

It’s why a re-elected Labor Government will extend afterhours care beyond those first five schools –expanding it to every single specialist school in our state – and the first 25, from 2024.

Families also told us how tricky it is for them, and how tiring it is for their kids to juggle multiple health appointments.

Every week, they pick their kids up from school, race across town for an appointment – race back, before trying to get dinner on the table.

It’s exhausting. It’s impractical. And it’s going to change.

A re-elected Labor Government will work with schools to create dedicated, onsite spaces for health appointments.

It’s a simple fix, but it’ll make a big difference:

Giving parents one less thing to worry about. And giving kids back their afternoons.

Parents also told us, that after nine years of a Liberal Government in Canberra:

The NDIS is not working.

Instead, the families it was created to help are getting lost in the system – tangled up by private providers and complicated paperwork.

It’s why we’ll introduce NDIS Navigators into every one of our 89 state specialist schools. They’ll be employed by us, but really, they’ll work for families.

Helping them to navigate the system and get the support their kids deserve.

And because we know it’s even harder in regional communities – we’ll fund 1000 scholarships to attract speech pathologists, occupational therapists and disability workers to regional areas.

There’s a lot of other things we’ll do too. Big and small, but each of them equally important:

We’ll fund more of the extracurricular activities that make school fun. 

We’ll help schools build swimming pools for onsite aqua-therapy.

We’ll invest in cuddles and companionship, with support for extra therapy animals.

And we’ll fund software that helps non-verbal kids express themselves – because just because you can’t speak… shouldn’t mean you aren’t heard.

Perhaps most importantly, we’ll make sure that not only are these commitments being delivered on – they’re being built upon too.

That means moving our conversation with parents out of makeshift meeting rooms…

And into the light and bright of a full Advisory Council –  the Premier’s Advisory Council.

It’ll mean the voices of parents, families and children are being not only heard, but listened to, always.

And that the breadth and depth of their experience is being honoured at the very heart of decision-making.

Andreas and Dijana who you saw in the video – they’re here with us today.

Can I ask them to stand up. As well as John from Bendigo SDS, and every parent, carer, teacher and advocate who shared their experience and helped shape this policy.

This is yours.

It belongs to you.

And your kids are worth it, every cent.

Let’s give them a round of applause.

And Dijana – we’ll see what we can do about getting the Wiggles out to Springvale SDS.

Friends, it’s the kind of fairness that only Labor will ever strive for… or ever achieve.

It’s not born out of some false sense of hope.

We know we can’t solve all the world’s problems, or be the source of every solution.

But we do know that with heart and with grit we can change things – and we can make life that little bit easier for families who really need it.

Earlier on, I told you about what I’d learnt from my dad. A man who worked with purpose.

But I learnt just as much from mum.

She’s someone who believes profoundly in the power of connection:

That every individual that’s held back holds us all back.

And that every person who reaches their full potential helps us reach our own.

It’s why I’m asking for your help.

Not for me. Not even for Labor.

But for us… all of us.

Right now, we have 13 days – 13 days that will determine what happens in our state for the next four years.

And now is our moment to decide.

Do we choose cuts and closures and privatisation? 

Or do we keep striving for something better and fairer and kinder – and for everyone?

So, when you walk out those doors, I’m asking:

Sign up for that extra shift.

Have that extra conversation.

Talk to your community.

Speak to your neighbours, your families, friends, workmates and teammates.

Be the person that answers the call.

Do it because you believe that every child is entitled to a great education.

Do it because you believe that every patient deserves care and dignity.

Do it because you believe that every worker should feel secure and safe.

Do it because you believe in people over profits.

Do it for our schools and our TAFEs.        

Do it for our nurses and our ambos.

Do it for Victorian workers and Victorian jobs.

Do it for a state that is fairer, more equal – and where everyone can be who they are.

Do it for everyone who’s depending on us.

That’s why on the 26th of November, we need your support.

I’m asking you to vote Labor.

Because only Labor is doing what matters.