- Published:
- Tuesday 6 October 2026
Premier Ben Carroll MP Speech to the VCOSS Pre-election Community Sector Summit
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I want to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we are gathered – the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation – and pay my respects to their Elders, past and present.
I’m proud to be a member of the party of Treaty – which is a pathway for a better future for all Victorians.
This is the first time I’ve spoken at a Victorian Council of Social Service event as Premier, but I am no stranger to your organisation.
I’ve worked closely with VCOSS over the years – especially in my Jobs, Justice and Education portfolios – and have a deep respect for your work and your people.
For the record, social justice is not an optional issue for me. I see it as a core part of the business of government.
That’s why I appointed Nick Staikos as Victoria’s first Minister for Homelessness.
That’s why, last month, I launched a $24.8 million action plan to tackle homelessness, with a triage system to deliver individualised support to rough sleepers and housing support for an extra 1,000 people at risk of homelessness.
That’s why, when I was Minister for Corrections, I took the Maribyrnong Immigration Detention Centre off the Commonwealth’s hands and turned it into a halfway house for men leaving prison – and cut recidivism.
That’s why I instituted the Park Run inside prison walls – to help prisoners get healthy with family members.
That’s why, since becoming Premier, I’ve expanded the Violence Reduction Unit. I backed this program because I’ve been to Glasgow and Harlem and seen that early intervention works.
And that’s why I’m here, today.
I know that social justice can change lives because I saw it happen when I was working for Steve Bracks. Steve, as many in this room will remember, was Premier in 2005 when Labor launched A Fairer Victoria.
A Fairer Victoria was a major social justice strategy – targeting systemic disadvantage. I know the Victorian Council of Social Service played a major part in the development of that strategy. It was the kind of reform that only happens when government really listens to evidence-based advocacy, then follows through with thoughtful, evidence-based actions.
A Fairer Victoria changed lives. I know A Fairer Victoria changed lives because many of the people it helped came from my part of the world.
You see, I grew up in Aiport West – under the flightpath – and started out behind a cash register at K-Mart. And, as the great Barry Jones would often say, your postcode is often the strongest factor in determining a person’s life outcomes. I was lucky. Dad was a tradie and Mum worked in local schools. They worked hard and did well, but not every family was as lucky as mine.
That’s why I got into politics – because I wanted to repay the good my family received and fight for other working families. That’s why I became Premier, too. I became Premier because I want Labor to do more for working families – fixing their problems, boosting their safety, and making their tax dollars count.
With that in mind, I want to brief you on Labor’s plans for the next four years – but first I have an announcement to make.
New Funding Arrangements
I know that most organisations in the sector operate on yearly applications for funding. And I know this arrangement makes long-term planning difficult.
I want to fix that problem.
If re-elected, Labor will change the funding arrangements. I want to get as many social services organisations as possible on four-year funding agreements – rather than one-year agreements – so they can concentrate more on their work and less on paperwork.
Speaking of paperwork, I know that your sector has slightly less than a year to prepare for a new Social, Community, Home Care, and Disability Services Award. These changes are significant – creating a new award structure, as well as changing pay rates and progression.
Less than 12 months is a very tight deadline. And I know that – for many smaller organisations with limited access to human resources experts – it will be a difficult deadline to meet.
That’s why our government is stepping forward to help with the administrative burden. And we will make an announcement – soon.
I want to thank VCOSS for their leadership on this – and other – social policy issues. Labor values your advocacy, and – on the other side of this election – I want to work closely with you.
Building to Grow
Now, let me brief you on the challenges and opportunities Victoria faces.
I’ll start by going back to 2014.
I’m not sure whether you remember what happened the last time the Liberals had power in Victoria. I do. They spent four years walking around in circles while Victoria was in the middle of the biggest population boom in its history – by raw numbers.
Between 2001 and 2026, Victoria’s population has grown by 2.4 million people – the equivalent of the combined populations of South Australia and Tasmania. That’s almost 100,000 new residents a year. To put that growth in perspective, Perth’s total population is about the same as our growth – 2.4 million people.
Unfortunately, the Liberals did not turn the sod on any new major capital works. As a result, Labor had to go into overdrive.
That’s why Victoria has been under construction for the past 12 years. We built 12 new hospitals. We built 121 schools. We removed 110 level crossings. We built the Metro. We built the West Gate Tunnel. And we upgraded every regional rail line – including 20 new stations. Not to mention the new services that came in behind those capital works.
My point. Labor builds and invests – to grow.
New Direction
Now, after 12 years Victoria is coming out of that heavy construction phase – and we have a new direction is all about delivering, and fighting for, working families.
We started with integrity and safety – calling a Royal Commission into the construction industry, boosting the powers of the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission, detailing plan to recruit 1,500 more police officers, outlawing coercive control, and toughening family violence intervention orders.
And, if re-elected, we will: increase maximum penalties for serious sex offences, introduce a maximum penalty of life imprisonment for rape, and introduce a ‘slow femicide’ offence for abusers who drive their partners to suicide.
I have zero tolerance for corruption and crime – especially violence in the home.
Looking ahead, my future vision for Victoria can be summed up in one word: growth.
Growth in community health and safety. Growth in skills and jobs. Growth in productivity and investment. Growth in sustainability and integrity.
Let me go back again to 2014 to explain what I mean by growth. Labor has spent 12 years investing in Victoria’s physical capital and services. Over the next four years, we will invest in people.
Our free dental plan is a good example of what I mean by investing in people. The dental plan – the first new policy I announced when I became Premier – is all about working families.
Medicare is a great Labor reform, but it doesn’t cover dental work. As a result, tens of thousands of Australians can’t afford to go to the dentist. Around 10,000 Victorians a year are raiding their superannuation to pay for dental work, with the average withdrawal amounting to $25,000.
Labor wants to fix that problem. That is why a re-elected Carroll Labor Government will deliver free dental services – for all Victorians. We will open free Public Dental Clinics across the state – starting with 10 in Melbourne and regional Victoria.
This is a structural cost-of-living commitment. Those 10 clinics will be open to every Victorian – and they will be permanent like our Urgent Care Clinics. It will change lives – giving thousands of Victorians access to preventative dental care – and save them real pain and real money.
And it’s a national first. No other state government has established a dental network like this. Every Victorian resident will be able to go to a free Public Dental Clinic for a checkup every year. And the free Public Dental Clinics will perform procedures like fillings, root canals and extractions.
That’s what the future looks like if Labor is re-elected.
But what does Victoria’s alternative reality look like?
Liberal-One Nation Coalition
I mentioned that the Liberals and One Nation are in an unofficial coalition. That’s not an exaggeration. This morning, on ABC radio, the Leader of the Opposition repeatedly refused to rule out doing a deal with One Nation.
The polling says Victoria is on track to elect a Liberal-One Nation Coalition Government.
The Liberals won’t have the numbers to win on their own.
What does that mean for working families?
We already know the Liberals have committed to $40 billion in cuts.
The Australia Institute assessment found the Liberals’ budget claims were ‘implausible’ – with significant flaws and uncosted proposals.
The Australia Institute assessment also paints a bleak picture for working families.
Under the Liberal’s plan: Victoria’s public service would be less than half the size it is now, meaning less police on the street, less teachers in classrooms and less doctors and nurses in hospitals; Victoria’s unemployment rate would spike to more than 5 per cent, with 31,700 public servants, including teachers, nurses and police, losing their jobs; productivity would fall, because we will be sicker without more nurses and less skilled without more teachers; and working families would go backwards, because the Liberals want to cut frontline services.
The bottom line is this. If the Liberals get what they want more working families will be out of work, more working families will be sick, less working people will be able to go to TAFE to learn a skill, and our State will be less productive.
What is even more disastrous than the Liberals’ plan is the fact that they would be in coalition with One Nation – and One Nation’s policies are extreme.
One Nation wants to get rid of paid parental leave and penalty rates. They want to make abortion a crime. They want to sell our public hospitals. And they want to Americanize our care system.
Privatizing the care economy has always been on the Liberal agenda. The Kennett Government planned to sell-off public hospitals and nursing homes if they won the 1999 election. And the Napthine Government cut aged care funding by $75 million, privatized 1,000 aged care beds, and closed 410 public aged care beds.
What will the Liberals and One Nation do to aged care this time?
This is a life-and-death question because Victoria has the largest State-funded aged care network in Australia. We have 153 public residential aged care services – including 8 specialist mental health services.
More than 4,000 healthcare professionals work in these aged care facilities – and we know they do a great job. We know because the staffing rating for those services is 4.4 out of 5 – compared to a national average of 2.7.
Around 90 per cent of these state-run aged care services – which have more than 5,500 beds – are based in regional and rural areas. And, in more than 50 communities, they are the only option for aged care.
Victoria has a duty of care towards the thousands of Victorians who live in those aged care services.
Their care should not be for sale to the highest bidder.
Conclusion
In conclusion, let me leave you with this thought.
Our opponents in the Liberal and One Nation parties are fond of saying that running a government is like running a business.
They’re wrong.
Running a state of more than 7 million people is nothing like running a business. If anything, it’s more like running a football team.
It’s like a footy team because – individually and collectively – we each have a role to play and, at different times in our lives, we play different roles.
Sometimes we have the ball. Sometimes we’re protecting the ball carrier.
Sometimes we’re kicking the goal. Sometimes we’re shepherding. Sometimes we’re laying the tackle.
Everyone contributes – and organisations like VCOSS ensure the no one is left behind – because everyone matters and that’s how strong communities are made.
We celebrate our milestones.
We come together when times are tough.
We look out for and protect each other.
And we win when we work together.
Thank you.