Wednesday, 10 September 2025

Motions

Budget papers 2025–26

Debate resumed on motion of Steve Dimopoulos:

That this house takes note of the 2025–26 budget papers.

Jade BENHAM (Mildura) (15:43): I was just looking over Hansard from the last time I got to speak on the budget, and honestly, I do not think the 7 minutes that I have left is enough to cover everything given what I have already spoken on. I will have to speak even quicker than I normally do. But the main theme of it was regional discrimination. This is something that we at the Nationals talk about often. With a quarter of the state’s population living outside of the capital city, we are of the strong belief that at least a quarter of infrastructure funding at a bare minimum should be invested in the regions given that everything the city relies on comes from us. From the Mallee, along the river, on the Murray; the Wimmera; Gippsland – everything that the city uses comes from us. We are talking about food and fibre. Down in the Latrobe Valley it is power, and soon, when this government gets its way, the power will come from up in the north-west as well.

Without regional Victoria this state would grind to a halt. We would be naked, sober and hungry. I know I say that all the time, but like I just said, naked because we grow the cotton and we grow the wool for the fibres on your back, sober because we grow the grapes for the wine and we grow barley and hops to make beer and hungry because it is obviously us growing the food in commercial quantities to feed not just the state but the entire world.

But the one thing that has been noted in this budget and is brought up to me most often is how we got into this state of debt, and by that I mean interest repayments of $1.2 million per hour. The answer is simple – we know what it is: because Labor cannot manage money. Imagine what we could do in my electorate of Mildura in a day, or in a week. In a day we could fill the potholes and fix the shoulders of the roads that are crumbling pretty safely, on the state roads at least. In a week we could fix all of the Buloke Shire Council roads that were destroyed in floods back in 2022.

I mentioned this last sitting week in this place. Buloke Shire Council are very small in terms of resources but large in terms of geography. They are still waiting on flood recovery funding to the tune of about $60 million so they can actually rebuild some of those roads or just, at a bare minimum, patch them up. We know that the only way to get our food and fibre to port or to market is on the roads, because the rail infrastructure funding that has gone into the city and into big holes under the city has left the Murray Basin rail project wanting such that we have an inefficient rail freight service that growers just cannot afford to use because it is too inefficient, with only three trains per week. So they have to go on trucks.

We know that the trucks are getting bigger. We have family growers now, such as Lamattina, for example, that grow carrots in my electorate, grow carrots in the member for Lowan’s electorate and grow carrots up in Queensland even so they can do it all year round because they are a supplier for Coles and Woolworths. As a family farm enterprise, they have to run B-quads to be able to get their carrots to market – B-quads on those little roads. The shoulders on them are literally crumbling. Like I have said, there are specifications for what the drop-off needs to be before it triggers repair. Well, I can tell you that those B-quads are not getting off the road, which in some cases is less than 3 metres wide. So they are family vehicles that need to leave the road with that kind of drop-off, and that is simply dangerous. This regional discrimination that we talk about is not just a talking point, it is not just a media release; it is dangerous, and it is costing lives.

We talk about that in terms of health care as well. That $1.2 million per hour in interest repayments that we are repaying in state debt: give me a month of those interest repayments alone, just a month, and we could improve the Mildura hospital – we could build a new hospital in a month with those interest repayments alone. We desperately need to, because, like I said, the Mildura Base Public Hospital has 130 beds for a catchment of 75,000 people, and we are talking in three states. I have had this discussion with the Minister for Health. People are moving to New South Wales, as much as this government does not want to acknowledge it. We can see it in border communities. Subdivisions are going on just over the river so people can build there, because they can actually build a house in New South Wales pretty easily; they can subdivide, and developers are treated with respect. But they are still using the infrastructure on our side, including that hospital, in fact all the way from Broken Hill and all the way from the Riverland in South Australia. Those 130 beds to service our catchment – that is one bed for every 577 people, and we wonder why there is a health crisis.

When we say that Labor cannot manage money, again, it is not just a talking point; it is actually dangerous, and it is costing lives. We have stories every day about how it is costing lives in health care, in infrastructure funding, in roads recovery funding and in support for those that grow our food and fibre in this state. This budget should have rewarded regional Victoria for the contribution they make, not just to your plate in the city but to the overall state’s GDP, and it has not. It has punished regional Victoria with higher debt, higher taxes and nothing to show for it. The Allan Labor government has once again proven that it governs just for the inner suburbs and marginal seats, but the Nationals will keep fighting. This budget fails regional Victoria, it fails fairness, it fails all of the regions throughout Victoria, and it is simply because we know that Labor cannot manage money.

Ros SPENCE (Kalkallo – Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Community Sport, Minister for Carers and Volunteers) (15:51): I am very pleased to speak to the 2025–26 Victorian budget, which builds on previous budget investments, focuses on what matters most and once again delivers important initiatives for the Kalkallo electorate. The Kalkallo electorate continues to be one of the fastest growing regions in Victoria, with diverse residents of all stages of life. And as it grows, the community relies on ongoing investment in services and infrastructure.

The health of every Victorian remains one of the highest priorities for our government. That is why we are investing over $600 million to open and operate community hospitals across the state. This includes the Craigieburn Community Hospital, which provides local care as well as alleviating the pressure on nearby major hospitals, such as the Northern Hospital in Epping. It has been really terrific to visit the hospital as services have been introduced, with pharmacy, dialysis and dental services underway for some time. It is now expanding to include paediatric development and feeding clinics, as well as antenatal and preterm birth care. In the coming months we will see more services, such as lung cancer screening and a specialist insulin pump clinic. This is a really important addition to our local community, and I look forward to even more services progressively rolling out. The budget also provides funding to continue operating urgent health clinics, ensuring that the Craigieburn urgent care clinic can keep delivering vital services for Craigieburn and the wider community. With extended hours, bulk billing and no appointment needed, these clinics are terrific for those who need urgent care but not an emergency response, again, freeing up our emergency departments and providing care close to home.

As we all know, with a growing population, we need to provide more transport options to keep our community moving. This budget delivers funding via the Growth Areas Infrastructure Contribution Fund to provide an increase in the operating hours of bus routes 525, 528, 529, 533, 537 and 390, and I look forward to these uplifts commencing soon. An additional $4.7 million is also allocated to Beveridge route 511 to increase the frequency and reroute that service to Craigieburn station. Rail services will also improve locally, including extra am and pm services each weekday from Wallan and Donnybrook to the CBD and back, slashing wait times from 40 minutes to 20 minutes, as well as additional services on the Craigieburn line. In partnership with the federal government, Mitchell shire will also see an important upgrade to Old Sydney Road which will provide an alternate route out of Beveridge.

When I am talking to residents locally, what comes through loud and clear is that cost-of-living relief really matters. It is not just people in Kalkallo who feel this way, and that is why this budget builds on a range of statewide initiatives to deliver real cost-of-living relief to families. Free public transport for under-18s from January 2026 will significantly assist families, as will the free public transport for seniors on weekends, increasing the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund to $400 for all eligible primary and secondary students in all Victorian schools, continuing free admission for children under ‍16 to Melbourne Zoo, Healesville Sanctuary, Kyabram Fauna Park and Werribee Open Range Zoo, the $100 power saving bonus vouchers for eligible concession card households and the expansion of the community pharmacy program so that pharmacists can treat more conditions without the need for people to see a GP for a prescription. Common conditions include allergies, asthma, ear infections, minor wound care and type 2 diabetes. They are being added to what was available during the pilot, such as resupply of the contraceptive pill, UTI treatments and access to travel health advice and vaccinations.

As Minister for Community Sport, I know that sport plays a vital role in physical health, mental wellbeing and community connection. It is important to many Victorians, including those in Kalkallo, but we need to make sure that cost is not a barrier to that participation. That is why this government introduced the Get Active Kids voucher program in 2020, and that is why programs to support participation are even more important in this current cost-of-living crisis that is faced by families. That is why this budget provides $20.3 million over two years to continue community sport and active recreation programs, including the Get Active Kids voucher program. New funding of $15 million will enable the program to be delivered for a further two years. This is an incredibly popular program where eligible families are able to apply for vouchers of up to $200 per child over two rounds, with the first opening in October, followed by another round in February 2026. The program is incredibly popular in the Hume LGA, including in Kalkallo, and I am delighted that this program not only is continuing but will add another 65,000 vouchers to the almost 190,000 vouchers already provided.

There is also $20 million in this budget for community sport and active recreation infrastructure, including up to $400,000 for a new sports and community pavilion at Dwyer Street reserve, in the rapidly growing part of Kalkallo, and up to $500,000 to upgrade the Beveridge recreation reserve, which is needing to service more and more residents every year, and for another round of the Local Sports Infrastructure Fund, which I encourage the Mitchell and Hume LGAs to submit applications for.

Nothing highlights a cost-of-living crisis like the need for food relief, and while no-one in our community should go hungry, demand for these services remains very high. As the Minister for Carers and Volunteers, I am proud of the additional $18 million that this budget invests in strengthening food security. We are doubling support for the community food relief program to support more regional and local organisations, including neighbourhood houses, to provide food relief to those who need it most. We are also investing $5.1 million over four years to expand the Good Money program delivered by Good Shepherd. This critical program provides Victorians facing significant financial stress with access to no-interest loans for a range of essentials, such as furniture, laptops, medical expenses and housing-related expenses such as rental bonds, as well as budgeting advice and referrals to other supports. I recently joined the member for Greenvale at the new Good Money storefront in Craigieburn, made possible by this funding, and I know these services will make a really important difference to our community once it opens later this year.

As the Minister for Agriculture I am pleased that the budget is backing Victoria’s $20 billion agriculture sector, with an investment of $35.6 million towards protecting our fresh produce and livestock. Supporting the industry benefits every Victorian, ensuring we can continue to enjoy the high-quality produce we know and love.

I am delighted that this year’s budget provides for my local community. We are continuing to deliver for local Victorians both in my electorate of Kalkallo and across my portfolio. As I mentioned at the start of my contribution, it is important that we continue to deliver for what is one of the fastest growing regions in Victoria. There are many diverse people of all stages of life, and the infrastructure that we are providing ensures that their needs are met and it is done so in a timely manner.

We have continued to open schools over the past 10 years. Next year I might be opening schools 11, 12 and 13. So we are recognising that there is significant growth, and we are making sure that the facilities are provided so that people can access education nice and close to home. Alongside those schools, we have also got the adjacent kindergartens being built. Sometimes they are in the community centres that we fund with local councils, which provide not only the kindergarten services but also the maternal and child health services that council deliver. I think we are up to about six to eight of those that we have opened in the last 10 years. They have been incredibly important for the local community, which does have a lot of babies being born every month – we are taking care of that. But also that we now have the adjacent kindergartens to the schools is really good. We recently opened one this year that was next to Wallan Secondary school, and that sits really nicely on that site.

I am confident that we are continuing to deliver what is needed when it is needed. That is also why we have the progressive rollout of services in the Craigieburn hospital, and I was there just last week seeing people who were really very pleased to be able to access health care nice and close to home. This frees up services at the Northern Hospital but also means that they have had time in their day saved because they can access it close to home. I commend the budget to the house.

Business interrupted under sessional orders.