Victoria and the federation, is it time for a Vexit? | Nicholas Reece
, enough to fund 9000 teachers, 9200 police officers or more than 10,000 nurses.
Federal elections are won and lost in regional Queensland and western Sydney. This means these regions play an oversized role in national political debate. As a result, Australia’s national policy settings tend to be more conservative than what the majority of Victorians would like. Regardless of the potential benefits, however, the reality is that Victoria is not going to leave the Commonwealth of Australia any time soon.
If the federal government is not going to give Victoria a fairer share of the financial pie then more radical solutions must be debated – Victoria could demand control over a greater portion of Commonwealth revenue coupled with the state taking on a greater share of service delivery responsibilities.For example, a component of the GST or income tax rate paid in Victoria could be set by the state, with all the revenue from that component returned to Victoria.