After the stepping down of Victorian State Treasurer Tim Pallas this week, we can almost breathe a sigh of relief. Almost!
With crippling debt, a flailing economy and the loss of our AAA credit rating, make no mistake. The enduring legacy of the worst treasurer in Australian history (the numbers don't lie) will conjure up an echo of hopelessness that's likely to be felt by many Victorians for decades.

With the Victorian Liberal Party seemingly MIA while entrenched in its own internal power struggle. We can only pray that newly named treasurer, Jaclyn Symes, is a safer pair of hands.

After having been found guilty of defamation against exiled MP Moira Deeming this week. Liberal Party State “leader” John Pesutto should do the only honourable thing, apologise to Moira, the parties voter base, the wider Victorian community, and stand down.
Instead he’s doubled down, refused to apologise and narrowly defeated a motion to reinstate Moira Deeming to the party room in a deadlocked vote of 14-14 in the Victorian Parliament this morning. This further exacerbating the embattled parties internal conflict.

To achieve equitable outcomes for all Victorians, a social and economic balance is paramount. Without the firm conservative opposition that Victorians deserve, we’re destined to slip further over the precipice toward social and economic collapse as mere passengers on a rudderless vessel by this increasingly authoritarian, Victorian socialist Labor government and its fiscally illiterate policies.

So hold back that premature sigh of relief and hang on to your hats. Unless the coalition can somehow redeem its mantle as the premier conservative party in this state, or Jaclyn Symes can hide the credit card and chide the state’s ministers like a responsible parent reprimanding her reckless teenagers for their expensive lifestyles. We’re destined for more of the same.

It seems to me that One Nation is the only party prepared to face the consequences of the unpopular decisions that need to be made in order to change the trajectory of this once great state. In the short term, I’d suggest tightening the belt this Christmas, as next year we drift aimlessly into uncharted waters.