By Josh Gordon
COMMENT
You have to wonder if Treasury isn't ashamed to have its name attached to this so-called ''Victorian Economic and Financial Statement''. If it isn't, it certainly should be. According to Premier Ted Baillieu, this document was written by Treasury. Yet it has little to do with economics and much to do with politics, dovetailing neatly with an agenda to trash Labor's legacy and manage expectations for the May 3 budget.
First, the slickly produced 12-page booklet says nothing of any upside revenue gains that might have boosted the bottom line, including potentially higher-than-expected tax collections from stamp duty, payrolls and gambling. It's all doom and gloom. As such, it only tells half the story. If experience is anything to go by, it would not be surprising if Treasury was to announce stronger-than-expected revenues on budget day and a surprisingly robust surplus.
Second, in contrast to the usual neutral tone of Treasury publications, to call the language used in this publication ''loaded'' would be an understatement. The document, for example, talks about ''inherited'' major projects ''beset by inadequate management'' and a ''pattern of project cost overruns''. This is political language, not the language of a neutral government department providing economic and financial advice.
Third, some of the cost blowout claims are themselves questionable. For example, to identify the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellbeing Centre as ''major project cost pressure'' smacks of politics. The money to complete the centre had only ever been announced by Labor as a campaign promise. The Baillieu government later announced a decision to match the $45 million promise. It was a policy decision, not a blowout. Curious also that Treasury has withheld information on the exact size of the cost overruns on almost $1.8 billion out of $2 billion worth of projects, including myki, the regional rail link and the new police database.
Treasury should know better.