Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas has revealed he is retiring from politics. Mr Pallas is the Member for Werribee and has served as treasurer since 2014. The state's next treasurer has yet to be chosen, with Mr Pallas declining to name his preferred successor.
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00:00He's managed Victoria's finances as Treasurer for a decade and now Tim Pallis says he's
00:07retiring from politics.
00:09He says he asked his wife when the right time was and her reply was about five years ago.
00:14Now Tim Pallis was first elected to the seat of Werribee in Melbourne's West in 2006 before
00:19taking on the Treasury portfolio in 2014.
00:22I've never let a second go by without trying to take the opportunity that this great office
00:30has provided, this great opportunity has provided and turn it into something of very substantial
00:36value for the wellbeing of the people of Victoria, particularly those who need government support
00:43and assistance.
00:44His legacy will be a mixed one.
00:46Victoria's net debt currently sits at $155 billion or 20% of Victoria's gross state product.
00:53Major projects in Victoria have faced cost and time overruns and a funding question mark
00:58hangs over Labor's signature rail project, the Suburban Rail Loop, despite the government
01:03signing contracts already.
01:05On all key measures, Tim Pallis's legacy will be one of enormous debt that Victorians in
01:13the present generation and in future generations will be saddled with.
01:17It is a legacy of the highest taxes in the country.
01:21It is a legacy of the highest unemployment in the country today.
01:26The Premier says she'll announce a replacement for Mr Pallis in the coming days and has promised
01:30that will happen before Christmas but who that will be remains a mystery at the moment
01:34as also it remains a mystery of who will replace Mr Pallis as the candidate in Werribee.
01:40His resignation does spark a by-election in that seat and many will see this as a referendum
01:46on how Labor's going in government and how Jacinta Allen is going as Premier.