Thursday 21 November 2024
The VicRoads joint venture is still costing Victorian taxpayers despite the Labor Government entering into a 40-year deal to outsource the registration and licensing division to the private sector.
The Victorian Parliament’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) has been told that the Labor Government paid $269.5 million to the joint venture last financial year – and at the same time taxpayers made a $45 million loss on the deal.
This loss comes on top of a $39 million loss in 2022-23, bringing the total loss to taxpayers since the establishment of the joint venture to $84 million.
The Labor Government sold off the division two years ago, but will continue to pay for certain activities under the deal, now and into the future. Public servants told PAEC still pays for services such as medical assessments of drivers for licensing purposes.
Shadow Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Danny O’Brien, said the deal was off to a bad start.
“Only Labor could cut a deal to outsource a government service, have to keep paying hundreds of millions of dollars a year for it and then also record a loss,” Mr O’Brien said.
“One wonders how the $270 million payment and $45 million loss might have been put to better use fixing our roads.”
Mr O’Brien said the government needed to explain how it would ensure taxpayers are not exposed to ongoing losses from the joint venture.
“Labor can’t manage money and it’s our roads and Victorian motorists that are suffering the consequences.”
Media contact: Dominic McDermott 0448 163 006 dominic.mcdermott@opposition.vic.gov.au