More than two years out from the next state election, Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto is spruiking a financial integrity plan featuring an online public expenditure tracker.
A legislated charter of budget honesty would also include a detailed fiscal plan to be published at the start of each parliamentary term and concrete benchmarks such as caps on net debt and contingencies.
An intergenerational report would also be produced every five years to provide a long-term outlook for the Victorian economy and state.
Victoria's net debt is forecast to hit $187.8 billion by mid-2028, pushing up annual interest repayments to $9.4 billion.
"Victoria's financial books have been cooked by Labor for far too long," Mr Pesutto told reporters.
"We have the highest debt in the nation, we have the highest taxes in the nation and what's worse, we have no transparency in the way Victoria's money is being spent on various types of programs."
Mr Pesutto rubbished a claim the real-time tracker would require a huge increase in public-sector staff to input the data.
"It might take Premier Jacinta Allan and Treasurer Tim Pallas 1000 people to change a light bulb," he said.
"But we're talking about existing information that should be made transparent to the Victorian people.
Opposition Leader John Pesutto denies a real-time tracker would require a big increase in staff. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)
Shadow treasurer Brad Rowswell said the plan was the first stage of the coalition's three-part response to a tax review discussion paper it released in July.
The coalition has vowed to unveil more fiscal strategy and tax reforms in 2025.
The state of Victoria's books is traditionally laid bare in the annual budget and mid-year updates.
The premier claimed the plan was the first step in the coalition laying the ground to cut frontline services.
"It's a plan for cuts, it's a plan for closures, it's a plan for an American-style debt ceiling," Ms Allan said.
"You know what you get with an American-style debt ceiling? You have an American-style health system."
Victoria's coalition has vowed to unveil more fiscal strategy and tax reforms in 2025. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)
Mr Pallas pointed out the coalition took a proposed debt cap to the 2022 state election, which it lost emphatically under then-leader Matthew Guy.
"This idea that governments should set some doctrinaire cap and not be alive to material circumstances that confront their community, we'll leave that to the Liberal Party," he said.
The Allan government is preparing to release a long-awaited economic growth statement in November, but it is no longer expected to include any proposed tax changes.
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