About a year and a half ago, Jaclyn Symes replaced Tim Pallas as Victorian treasurer, ending Pallas’ record-breaking ten years in the role.
A lot was expected of Symes in not much time. She needed to find cash for an election less than two years away, but the state’s finances were already badly stretched by high net debt and elevated pandemic-related spending.
To add to the challenge, the main Victorian public sector union was primed for a fight following a change of leadership elected to protect pay and jobs.
