Tim Pallas

Timothy Hugh Pallas (born 7 January 1960) is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2006, representing the electorate of Tarneit until 2014 and Werribee thereafter. He has served as Treasurer of Victoria in the Andrews Ministry since December 2014. Pallas previously served as Minister for Roads and Ports and Minister for Major Projects in the Brumby Ministry until 2010.

The Honourable

Tim Pallas

MP
Treasurer of Victoria
Assumed office
4 December 2014
PremierDaniel Andrews
Preceded byMichael O'Brien
Minister for the Coordination of Treasury and Finance
Assumed office
3 April 2020
PremierDaniel Andrews
Preceded byPosition established
Minister for Economic Development
Assumed office
29 November 2018
PremierDaniel Andrews
Preceded byPosition established
Minister for Industrial Relations
Assumed office
29 November 2018
PremierDaniel Andrews
Preceded byNatalie Hutchins
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
for Werribee
Assumed office
29 November 2014
Preceded byDistrict re-established
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
for Tarneit
In office
25 November 2006 – 29 November 2014
Preceded byMary Gillett
Succeeded byTelmo Languiller
Personal details
Born (1960-01-07) 7 January 1960
Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Political partyLabor
ChildrenTwo
Alma materAustralian National University
OccupationTrade union official
Websitetimpallas.com.au

Before politics

Pallas, a former trade union official with the National Union of Workers, was the chief of staff to Premier of Victoria Steve Bracks before entering politics.

Political career

He first contested the open preselection for the federal seat of Melbourne Ports in 1998, but was defeated by Michael Danby.

In 2005, Pallas challenged incumbent backbencher Mary Gillett for preselection in the safe seat of Tarneit, and with Bracks' backing, was successful. He was easily elected at the 2006 state election, and was immediately appointed to Cabinet, being assigned the roads and ports portfolio.

In 2010, Pallas courted controversy when whilst launching a road safety campaign he called Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton a "dickhead". Hamilton had been caught by police engaging in an act of 'hoon driving' in a $160,000 Mercedes on the previous Friday night.[1]

During his ministry, he implemented a number of measures to improve traffic flow on the major Victorian freeways including the Monash CityLink West Gate Upgrade. In February, he launched a $5 million study into traffic flow along Hoddle Street between CityLink and the Eastern Freeway.[2] The study had been previously announced in the Victorian Transport Plan in 2008.[3] In March, he approved a ban on trucks using the right-hand lane on busy sections of three-lane freeways.[4][5][6] The RACV had campaigned for the ban for two years, attracting support from an "overwhelming 83% of motorists [it] surveyed".

He was appointed Treasurer in 2014 after the election of the Andrews Labor Government in November 2014. His first budget in May 2015 provided for the biggest spend on education in Victoria's history.

In 2020 he followed South Australia in enacting policy which charges electric vehicles (as well as plug in hybrids and hydrogen vehicles) higher road taxes than vehicles that can only operate by burning fossil fuels such as petrol, diesel or LPG.[7][8]

References
  1. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/new-road-safety-campaign/story-e6frf7jo-1225846731084
  2. Unattributed (13 February 2010). "$5m to study Hoddle St chaos". Herald Sun. p. 22.
  3. Peter Rolfe (7 December 2008). "Plan for Hoddle express". Herald Sun. p. 3. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  4. Lucas, Clay (4 March 2010). "Trucks banned from freeway lane". The Age. p. 3. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  5. Gardiner, Ashley (4 March 2010). "Trucks told to keep left". Herald Sun. p. 11. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  6. Farago, Peter (4 March 2010). "Truckies face fines if they're caught driving in fast lane – Right now wrong". Geelong Advertiser. p. 4. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  7. https://www.news.com.au/technology/motoring/motoring-news/electric-car-tax-spreads-to-new-states/news-story/172ac67ccd8974566e3c65dc26c07048
  8. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-22/victoria-electric-car-tax-reax-industry-infrastructure-greens/12908238
Victorian Legislative Assembly
Preceded by
Mary Gillett		 Member for Tarneit
2006–2014		 Succeeded by
Telmo Languiller
New seat Member for Werribee
2014–present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Michael O'Brien		 Treasurer of Victoria
2014–present		 Incumbent
Preceded by
Natalie Hutchins		 Minister for Industrial Relations
2018–present
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