Melbourne’s Deputy Lord Mayor has launched a ‘Vexit’ campaign for Victoria to leave the Commonwealth of Australia.
In an opinion piece for The Age, Nicholas Reece felt Victoria was ‘ripped off’ in this year’s federal budget and believed it was time for Victorians to consider an exit.
Within the piece, Reece asked: “At what point does Victoria say to the Commonwealth of Australia, enough is enough?”
He later added: “Perhaps it is time for Victoria to consider the unthinkable – to go it alone in our own best interests. A Vexit.”
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Clever play on words there, Lord Mayor.
Reece outlined many reasons why he believed a split from the nation would be in Victoria’s best interest.
He stated: “Victoria was allocated less than 6 per cent of $3.6 billion in new infrastructure funding in this year’s pre-election budget, despite having 26 per cent of the nation’s population.”
He argued Federal Elections are won within the regions of western Sydney and regional Queensland, meaning policies are often skewed toward these areas and far more conservative than what the majority of Victorians would like.
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Reece also claimed Victoria could have a more progressive policy toward climate change and refugees, similar to that of neighbouring country New Zealand.
In Western Australia, the idea of leaving the federation is regularly debated.
A poll conducted in October 2020 by market research group Utting found that 25 per cent of Western Australians supported the state being its own country.
Labor MP Patrick Gorman told The West Australian: “The tyranny of distance between Perth and Canberra often leaves West Australians feeling isolated and ignored by our east coast allies, fuelling the discussion.”
While Reece’s idea isn’t a new one in modern-day Australia, he did admit that it would be extremely difficult for any state to break away from the Australian federation.
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He said: “The Constitution makes it all but impossible as it has no provision for a state to secede, while the preamble states that the Australian federation is ‘indissoluble’.
“Beyond these legalities, neither Victoria nor Australia needs the unhelpful distraction of a Brexit Down Under.
“But surely, it is time for Victoria to start playing hardball to ensure we get our fair share of the federal financial carve-up.”
Though the thought of an Australian state leaving the nation seems extraordinary, Reece doesn’t believe it’s out of the realm of possibility.
He said: “Desperate times call for desperate measures and Canberra needs to know Victorians are sick of being screwed over. Radical options are on the table, including a Vexit!”
Jayden Collins