Tuesday, 13 August 2019
Motions
Budget papers 2019–20
Motions
Budget papers 2019–20
Debate resumed on motion of Mr DONNELLAN:
That this house takes note of the 2019–20 budget papers.
Ms SHEED (Shepparton) (18:29): The budget was unable to address the long-awaited Shepparton bypass, because we are yet to see the business case, which has been in development now for two years. The federal government committed $208 million to this project prior to the federal election in May, and last week the federal member for Nicholls recommitted these funds. It is long past time for the business case to be released so Greater Shepparton can be provided with the certainty that we need in relation to this major project. The pivotal part of the bypass is to get a connection from the Midland Highway at Mooroopna, a second river crossing and one that joins the Goulburn Valley Highway again as it travels north. One of the main reasons for this is that in our City of Greater Shepparton and also in Mooroopna we have a situation where we have B-doubles, huge trucks, thundering down our main streets as they travel east–west and north–south. This would provide the opportunity to get those trucks out of the major thoroughfare through our town. It raises safety issues and many others. It is a significant project that will really change the amenity of our community but also astronomically add to the economic value of our community by increasing the speed and ability for heavy transport to pass through our town.
Treasurer, your first term saw you invest generously in the Greater Shepparton region, and so many of those projects are currently rolling out. I ask you to build on this investment in the future.
Mr HAMER (Box Hill) (18:30): It gives me great pleasure to rise today to speak on the 2019–20 Victorian state budget. This is a budget that keeps the promises we made to the Victorian people. It is a budget that delivers a surplus and funds the projects that Victorians voted for and need. It is a budget that delivers record investments in infrastructure and core services that Victorians deserve, and it is a budget that delivers for all Victorians and, most importantly, a budget that delivers for the people of Box Hill.
Victoria is the engine room of the nation when it comes to jobs growth, with more than 470 000 jobs created since the Andrews Labor government was first elected. Our latest budget delivered the strongest surplus of all the states, and it keeps the promises we made to Victorians—funding the projects that Victorians voted for and need while cutting payroll taxes to help business. We will continue our unprecedented investment in health, education, roads, public transport and infrastructure because it is not only what Victorians voted for but it helps create jobs. This is why Victoria has been named the top economic performer in the nation, relegating our northern neighbours to second place, in the most recent CommSec State of the States report. This result is driven by the Andrews Labor government’s unprecedented infrastructure build and investment in the Victorian community.
Now, back in June I was all fired up and raring to go to make my contribution to this debate, but I am so glad that I waited, because not only can I talk about what the budget is going to deliver for the people of Victoria and the people of Box Hill, but now I can actually talk about what the budget is actually delivering for my community. For starters, let us take this government’s $6.6 billion commitment to fund the removal of further level crossings across the metropolitan area, taking the government’s total commitment to 75 level crossing removals by 2025. The Level Crossing Removal Project is synonymous with getting on and removing level crossings that for years had led to tragic fatalities and serious injuries, contributed to road congestion and prevented additional train services from operating.
There are two level crossings in the Box Hill electorate—Union Road, Surrey Hills, and Mont Albert Road, Mont Albert—and both have their own stories to tell. At the Union Road level crossing two women were tragically killed in 2016 after their car became stuck between the boom gates in heavy traffic and was hit by an express train. While thankfully this has been the only incident resulting in a fatality, many residents have provided me with their stories of near misses and close shaves. At the Mont Albert level crossing the proximity of both Surrey Hills and Mont Albert stations, together with the presence of an express track, means that in the morning and evening peak road users can be stuck at the crossing for 5 to 10 minutes while as many as five or six trains pass through. Blocking a main east–west connection such as Mont Albert Road causes significant queueing not just on Mont Albert Road itself but through the local network.
Residents of the Box Hill electorate have been cursing these level crossings for years—generations even. The 1978–79 annual report of the Country Roads Board records the following:
In 1974 the Abolition of Level Crossings Committee comprising the Engineer in Chief, CRB, Chief Civil Engineer, Victorian Railways and Chief Engineer, Public Works Department, recommended that the Board be the co-ordinating and construction authority for a direct road connection from Warrigal Road to Union Road, eliminating the railway level crossing at Union Road, Surrey Hills.
This recommendation was based on the predicted traffic delays and accident potential at the level crossing. Due to local concerns, the board decided to prepare an environment effects statement and to re-examine the need for a road overpass of the railway. The report continued:
The investigations concluded that in view of the relatively short delays and good safety record at the existing level crossing in Union Road, the high cost and environmental effects of an overpass, and the fact that other road improvement alternatives … could satisfactorily handle expected future traffic:
…
On Friday, 6th April, 1979, the Minister of Transport, the Hon Robert Maclellan, MLA, announced that the proposed elimination of the railway level crossing would not proceed in the light of the Board’s further investigations …
So while 40 years ago the Hamer government decided not to proceed with the level crossing removal at Union Road, I am glad that it will be a Hamer in the current government that will remove the Union Road level crossing. During the winter break geotechnical investigations at both these sites commenced, to help inform the planning of the design.
This year’s budget also committed $300 million to undertake detailed planning and prepare a business case for stage 1 of the Suburban Rail Loop. The Suburban Rail Loop is a transformational project that will change the way that we move around Melbourne and will change the way that we think about Melbourne—not just as a city with a strong central core, but one with multiple foci, each highly accessible and providing high-quality jobs close to where people live. The first stage of the project will link Melbourne’s eastern and south-eastern suburbs. I look forward to being able to take the train from my office to visit all my friends along the corridor—the member for Mordialloc, the member for Clarinda, the member for Oakleigh, the member for Mount Waverley and of course the member for Burwood. It was terrific to join the Premier and the Minister for Transport Infrastructure last month to get this project underway, with drilling getting started in the heart of Box Hill.
This budget also includes $370 000 for planning works for the next stage of the strategic cycling corridor in the eastern suburbs, from Box Hill to Hawthorn, enabling me to head west to visit another of my good friends, the member for Hawthorn. Now, I am not sure how often the member for Hawthorn gets out on two wheels, but I cannot thank him enough for his advocacy for this project and his recognition of the importance of this project to improving cycling infrastructure in the eastern suburbs.
This project will connect with the Box Hill to Ringwood cycling path that is currently under construction. The section between Sagoe Lane and Middleborough Road is now open to cyclists and pedestrians. The new signals at Springvale Road at Nunawading station have been installed, and we are just waiting for the power to be connected for the signals to go live. The final section near Laburnum station is making great progress following recent meetings with council and cycle user groups. I am looking forward to this path being completed so I can ride all the way from my electorate office to that of another good friend, the member for Ringwood.
In terms of education, this year’s budget delivers a $1.8 billion investment in schools across the state. The most important one for me is the $6.05 million that has been invested in Koonung Secondary College. This funding will see the demolition and rebuild of the main classroom wing at the school. Koonung Secondary College is a fantastic local school with an outstanding program and a cutting-edge curriculum, and it consistently produces excellent VCE results. A small amount of funding it received a few years ago was used to create new senior school STEM classrooms and a teaching kitchen, and these are a source of much pride for the school community. However, its main classroom buildings are in desperate need of an upgrade, and during the election campaign and in the six or so months since being elected, if there has been one common theme I have heard from the residents of Box Hill electorate it is this: ‘When are you going to do something about Koonung?’. While this would be expected from staff, parents and students, this query also came from ex-staff, ex-students and former parents. Even staff and parents of students from other schools readily admitted that while they would like funding for their school, Koonung really needs it. In June the Deputy Premier and I visited the school to announce this significant investment, and the local community just cannot stop talking about what an important fillip this is to the school.
Another great initiative of this budget is the $882 million of funding to deliver on the government’s commitment to ensure every three-year-old has access to at least 5 hours per week of kindergarten. When children participate in high-quality early childhood education it lays strong foundations for their learning and social and emotional development. Research shows that children who attend at least two years of preschool are more likely to outperform their peers at age 15. My own children are just starting out on their education journey. The older child has just completed two years of kinder, and the younger one has just experienced his first six months of three-year-old kinder. The confidence that both of them show and that both have developed through experiencing the kinder program is simply astounding.
This budget is also investing in healthy smiles for our kids, beginning with the rollout of free dental care for Victorian students across our state. Oral disease is one of the most common and expensive diseases to treat, but it is also the most preventable. Across Australia a quarter of all children have untreated tooth decay. In Victoria dental conditions are the highest single cause of preventable hospitalisations for kids under 10. Tooth decay is over five times more prevalent than asthma among children. Establishing sound oral health care from an early age gives children the best chance of maintaining good oral health in adulthood. It keeps kids healthy and happy, and avoids a trip to the hospital emergency department when serious problems develop. The Smile Squad delivers on our commitment to invest $321 million over four years to improve dental health for all Victorian primary and secondary public school students. The free Smile Squad will drive down big dental costs for families, with bills expected to be slashed by $400 each year for each child. It will also free up more than 100 000 places for adults in the public dental system each year, reducing wait times.
On Sunday I was delighted to have the Premier, Deputy Premier and Minister for Health brave the snow and icy conditions to join me at Box Hill North Primary School for the launch of the Andrews government’s free dental care program. Can I pay particular credit to Kaye Albon, principal of Box Hill North Primary School, and to the parents and students who came out on a cold winter’s day to help launch this fantastic program. To me, asking students to come to school in school uniform just so they could go to the dentist may not have been the greatest sales pitch, but come they did, and for those who watched the news on Sunday night, I am sure you would agree that the students did a magnificent job.
I will quickly finish on a number of other local community highlights that we have in the budget: two off-leash parks, one in Boroondara and one in the City of Whitehorse, that will provide much-needed space for our four-legged friends across the electorate; $1 million for a Sikh community centre in Blackburn; and funding for important celebrations for the Greek community and for the Chinese New Year Festival, which is the biggest of its kind in Victoria. With all these projects, the budget delivers for Victoria and delivers for the Box Hill electorate. I commend the budget to the house.
Mr NORTHE (Morwell) (18:43): It gives me pleasure to rise to give a response to the budget papers. It is a few months after the budget itself, but nonetheless this is a great opportunity to talk about the budget and how it impacts upon the Morwell electorate and to say a little bit from a statewide perspective. I would describe the budget as a bit of a mixed bag. It is a little bit like Christmas time, when you get what you ask for in many cases but in some other cases you do not, and there are a few surprises along the way.
From a Victorian perspective, I guess, overall there are some concerns with regard to the increased and additional taxes that have been applied to many businesses and people within our community. Cost-of-living expenses are a significant issue for many, many businesses and people, and whilst I commend the government for their infrastructure investment across the state, which is pleasing to see, ultimately it comes at a cost. It is concerning to see the significant increases in costs, particularly around our public service, and at the same time seeing diminishing property revenue coming into government coffers. At some stage or some point in the future all these infrastructure projects, including public servants and others, are going to have to be paid for. That is just a concern that I flag more generally to this chamber this evening.
But I do want to focus a lot of my commentary on the Morwell electorate, and firstly, I will focus on some of the positives. I might say before I commence that I have been disappointed in the past with some budgets from this government, particularly two years ago when there was an extra $252 million of taxes on Latrobe Valley power generators. That was a bad decision and something that we have really struggled to recover from, which I will talk about more in my contribution. Thankfully the budget in May did not target a specific industry or a specific region with high unemployment by increasing taxes.
Nonetheless, it is pleasing to see in the budget some planning money for a Latrobe Regional Hospital (LRH) upgrade. We have just basically completed stage 2A of the hospital, for which funding was provided under the former coalition government. To see the next stage of LRH commence, particularly through its planning stage, will be fantastic for the region. It is actually now, I think, the largest employer within Latrobe city, and that will grow and expand in the future. But from a patient point of view, having services locally whereby those requiring health services do not have to attend Melbourne clinics or seek professionals in Melbourne is really important. I commend the government for having that $7 million of planning money to start with.
I might say in the same context—it is digressing slightly—Gippsland Rotary Centenary House is basically an accommodation facility and its support of people who are suffering from cancer by enabling them to stay at Latrobe Regional Hospital while they undergo cancer treatment is a fantastic initiative, so just a cheerio and call-out to all associated with Gippsland Rotary Centenary House.
The reduction of payroll tax for regional businesses is certainly something that would be welcome to those that are eligible, and increasing the tax-free threshold to $700 000 at least is a start for those businesses who have to pay payroll tax. It would be described, I guess, as an insidious tax by many businesses, but nonetheless it is good to see some improvement in that, particularly for regional businesses.
There is some investment in our schools. Churchill Primary School and Kosciuszko Street Primary School in Traralgon are fantastic schools, and they will benefit from those developments. While I am talking about schools, we still do not have any answers from the government with respect to Latrobe Special Developmental School. In last year’s budget there was $6 million allocated to the redevelopment of Traralgon College and Latrobe Special Developmental School. As you can appreciate, the $6 million, while welcome, will not provide for the redevelopment of both of those schools. Latrobe Special Developmental School are very adamant that they need and want a standalone school. So from my point of view it was disappointing not to see additional money to accommodate and support Latrobe Special Developmental School with a standalone school into the future that is desperately needed.
It is pleasing to see some funding for sporting facilities such as the Traralgon basketball stadium, the Gippsland Plains rail trail, Traralgon City Soccer Club and the Traralgon tennis club, and while not necessarily in my electorate there is $10.2 million towards the Hope Restart facility in Bairnsdale. This is an important facility and something that I have been calling for in the region for a long time. It is a residential facility for drug and alcohol rehabilitation. The facility is very important basically because east of Pakenham there is not a single bed to support and help people who are dealing with drug and alcohol addiction. And whilst it is not in the budget, I do note and commend the government—to a point, if I can say that—on their investment in a youth drug and alcohol residential facility in the Latrobe Valley. But unfortunately that is only confined to youth. Personally I would love to see that expanded to all ages. But nonetheless, it is a start, and I give the minister and the government credit for that.
I guess the things that are missing from the budget are disappointing. Before the budget was actually announced by the Treasurer of course we all had our little wish lists, and it was with some disappointment that I saw there was really no support for Latrobe city farmers. I appreciate the fact that we have had a lot of rain and people might not understand that and think, ‘Oh well, it’s rained and the drought’s over’, but the reality on the ground is far different. There are so many farmers in my community who are really doing it extremely tough. There are just appalling conditions. It is just as bare as inside the chamber here. There is no feed. The feed that is available is extraordinarily expensive. Farmers’ health, mental health and economic wellbeing are really being put to the test.
The point I raise here is that I appreciate that the government has some drought support programs in place, but some of those programs are not accessible for Latrobe City Council-based farmers. I just do not get it. I know it is not just this current government, but to apply arbitrary lines across municipal boundaries I think is just wrong. You are either in drought or you are not. The issue I have is that a neighbour on one side of the road is eligible for certain supports and assistance, but the neighbour across the road, who is dealing with just the same conditions, is not. I think we really need to look at that and look at it seriously, because there are a number of farmers who are really struggling in the Latrobe City Council area.
Also, the farmers I talk to say to me that they have never seen the drought as bad, yet 10 years ago, under Premier Brumby at that time, we had municipal rate relief. Why isn’t the same being applied now? It is really disappointing from my point of view, and on behalf of the farmers in my community, that those types of programs have not been initiated.
I note the Minister for Public Transport is at the table. She will enjoy me talking about V/Line services. From my perspective I know there are a lot of investments and upgrades that are happening on the line. Obviously the Gippsland commuters have had to contend with continual disruptions and delays, and that has meant enormous frustration for many commuters, particularly regular commuters. What I would like—again I am talking about a wish list here—is to make sure that our travel times are improved into the future. With the regional rail upgrades at the moment I suspect that that is not going to be the case. From a Gippsland point of view, when you see Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo receiving significant amounts of money for upgrades to improve their services and dedicated lines and the same not applying to Gippsland, that is really disappointing. Really, at the moment, when you look at it in detail, Gippsland commuters are paying more to travel fewer kilometres with inferior services. We really need to break that nexus.
There is some money across the Gippsland region for crisis accommodation, and that is really important. It is really a little bit unclear as to how that money might be spent. One of the biggest issues that is constantly coming through my office at the moment is the issue of homelessness. We have just gone through Homelessness Week, and I have observed in my office more and more people coming through who really need crisis accommodation. We need to continue to support those agencies who are helping in that space.
The budget is disappointing again from a Hazelwood Pondage point of view. We all know Hazelwood power station has closed. We have tried to get the government to commit to a feasibility study. That would not be a major cost. But at the moment that particular community asset is closed. It has been closed for a while. We have had 5000 signatures that I have tabled in this Parliament to try and have it reopened or, even before it is reopened, have a feasibility study. You have got groups and organisations like the Latrobe Valley Yacht Club and the Latrobe Valley Game Fishing Club. You have got the Sailability program that helps young people with a disability with sailing activities. You have got the Latrobe Valley powerboat club. You have got the Latrobe Valley Triathlon Club.
They are all stakeholders in that group, and they are basically being kicked off the site. Some of these groups and organisations have got nowhere to go. They are the stakeholders, but it is also from a business and community point of view that we are missing out. It just defies logic and belief that we just cannot get the government to commit to a feasibility study, which is a low minimum cost in the bigger scheme of things to understand what the issues are with the pondage and having it reopened. Engie say there are wall stability issues, but we say that as a community we need to explore every single option for having that unique body of water reopened for current and future generations to use.
In the budget itself there is not a lot about Latrobe Valley jobs. That is absolutely critical in our community. We know that since Hazelwood power station closed and the Carter Holt Harvey timber mill closed in Morwell two years ago, on the government’s own statistics there are around 570 former workers and contractors who are currently employed in non-full-time positions or are actively looking for work—570. That tells you something about the necessity to come up with good ideas about creating jobs in our community.
What is disappointing is the fact that we have businesses in our community right now who want to grow, want to expand and want to create jobs but are unable to do so because of the bureaucratic mess that exists, particularly in the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. We have four quarries in my electorate—Matthews Quarries, Latrobe Valley Blue Metal, Latrobe Valley Sands and Maryvale Sand and Trading Supplies—who all want to grow and expand, who have all got limited life, who all provide material to infrastructure projects in this state and who have all tried to do their best to take the first step but have always put up with a stop sign in front of them. It is simply unbelievable. I raised this issue 12 months ago with the Treasurer, asking him to meet with some of these organisations, which he refused to do. I mean, the peak body is saying that unless we do something about this we will not only lose jobs in Victoria but we will be importing material from other states, and we cannot let that happen. These issues still sit here today, and it is simply not good enough.
Also we have approved projects that have already gone through the realm of local development, such as the Lake Narracan precinct project and the Morwell north-west development zone. One is an industrial zone; one is a future residential zone. They have been approved. They are sitting there ready to go, but we need help from the government to get infrastructure to site. At a minimal cost to the government we could start those developments tomorrow. That would create hundreds of jobs, build local infrastructure and improve the local economic outcome for the Latrobe Valley community tenfold if we were able to do that. There are programs that exist in other states, such as the Catalyst program that exists in Queensland, which the government here could adopt tomorrow to support such initiatives to get off the ground, but they continue to be blocked.
One of those particular projects, the Morwell north-west development, has been approved since 2011 and simply sits stagnant. We really need support now in getting water, sewerage and roads built to those particular developments so they can get off the ground, create local jobs, create local infrastructure and really give the Latrobe Valley economy a significant boost at the same time.
So I will finish where I started. This budget is a bit of a mixed bag. Hopefully some of those initiatives that I have proposed will be taken seriously.
Ms SPENCE (Yuroke) (18:58): I am very pleased to rise in support of the 2019–20 Victorian budget and start my contribution, if not finish it. So this budget is great for the people of Victoria. It will certainly keep me busy as the Parliamentary Secretary for Road Infrastructure, and it continues to deliver for my electorate of Yuroke. Last term saw the Andrews Labor government start to catch up on all of the outstanding priorities in Yuroke after the four years of absolute neglect by the former Liberal government between 2010 and 2014, and I am thrilled that this government is continuing to provide the needed investment in my electorate in Melbourne’s outer northern suburbs.
Yuroke is a rapidly growing electorate, and it is home to some of the fastest growing suburbs in the country. When I was first elected in 2014 there were slightly less than 44 000 voters. Last November that figure had increased to more than 58 000 voters, with a population of around 100 000 people. Residents celebrate our diversity and enjoy both established outer suburbs and some of our newer suburbs, where they are indeed our modern-day pioneers.
Business interrupted under sessional orders.