Tuesday, 23 May 2023

Budget 2023–24

Sam GROTH (Nepean) (19:08): (195) My adjournment is for the Premier of Victoria, and the action I seek is for the Premier to explain to my community why major infrastructure needs for Nepean were ignored in this year’s state budget. Today we saw the handing down of the 2023–24 Victorian budget. This budget reveals that under Labor Victoria is broke and residents in Nepean are being punished for Labor’s incompetence. Labor’s cash grab through increased land tax will hit the constituents of my electorate, who already carry a disproportionate land tax burden, harder than most. This tax increase will also further squeeze the tight rental market in my community, exacerbating the already serious housing and rental crisis.

In part this budget has been a win for my community on the southern peninsula, with funding for schools, water infrastructure and other facilities. However, while these victories are great for Nepean and demonstrate what strong local advocacy can achieve, there are still many vital projects that have gone unfunded in this budget. I welcome the investment of $200,000 in Rye Primary School for the desperately needed upgrades to their playgrounds; however, only $42,000 of this will be delivered this year. That raises concerns about how long this important project will take to be completed. Similarly, Eastbourne Primary School has been allocated important funding for planning around upgrades to their existing school facilities, but planning is not enough. These schools need real action from the government: investment in the capital works they have been crying out for. I am glad that progress is being made on these important projects, but I am saddened to see some vital projects completely left out by the Andrews Labor government.

Rosebud Hospital continues to be a project of immense importance to my constituents, a key development in the health and wellbeing of residents on the southern peninsula. This government may think Victoria ends at Frankston, but I assure you it does not. Fifteen years after the issues of Rosebud Hospital were first raised the government has again failed to come to the table with funding.

We have also seen a significant investment in a Frankston basketball stadium while similar facilities like the Dromana College stadium, which I have fiercely advocated for in my constituency, have been ignored, just like the Jetty Road and the Mornington Peninsula Freeway sound barriers, another project deprived of state government support that is pivotal for community safety in my electorate. While I welcome the funding that we have secured through strong advocacy as a community, I continue to call on the Andrews government to do more to deliver vital projects for those people living in Nepean.