Wednesday, 4 March 2026

 Dylan WIGHT (Tarneit) (11:08): It was good of the member for Narracan to learn how to pronounce some words at the back end of his contribution there. I rise this morning to make a contribution on the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee report on the 2025–26 budget estimates. Last year the Treasurer and the government delivered a budget which was both fiscally responsible and also delivered the cost-of-living relief and the services that Victorians need, particularly those Victorians living in outer suburban areas like Tarneit and Hoppers Crossing. The budget delivered an operating surplus for the first time I believe since COVID, which is obviously understandable given the investments that we had to make to help businesses and workers during that period. It also forecasts strong economic growth in the forwards and strong growth of gross state product for the best-performing economy of any jurisdiction anywhere in Australia – that is not opinion, that is fact. It also, as I mentioned, delivered the cost-of-living relief, the services and the infrastructure that our growing suburbs need. Tarneit and Hoppers Crossing were incredibly fortunate to be provided with that in the budget last year, and I will go through and speak about some of those fantastic projects and fantastic services that will be delivered in my community in Tarneit.

At Hogans Road Reserve, where the Hoppers Crossing football and cricket club play, there was $120,000 for a brand new scoreboard for the main oval there. Hoppers Crossing football and cricket club is more than just a sporting club; it is an integral part of that community and it really forms a community hub. The new scoreboard will allow that community organisation to run movie nights through the summer periods. It will support their junior teams as well. It will support their cricket team. It will support obviously their senior football teams and women’s teams as well. The Hoppers Crossing football and cricket club, as I said, is more than a sporting club. It is an organisation that is rooted deeply in that community and has been in existence since the 1970s, which is when the first division or subdivision in Hoppers Crossing was, so to be able to provide that critical piece of community infrastructure for that club was absolutely amazing.

There was a share – I think about $500,000 – of planning money for The Grange P–12 College as well. The Grange P–12 College has two campuses, and it is an absolutely amazing school. There are two campuses: a P–6 and then a 7–12. The 7–12 campus, under the previous member, who is now the member for Laverton, was able to get a capital works upgrade, which was absolutely fantastic, but the P–6 college is in great need of a capital works upgrade as well, so to be able to provide the planning money for the school and the Victorian School Building Authority to do the detailed planning with an architect to set up that plan and that structure and the plans for capital works upgrade for the primary campus to hopefully be funded in coming years was something that was incredible as well. I know that that school community that do such an amazing job in Hoppers Crossing was so very grateful, and actually I cannot wait for their year 10s and 11s to be in here for Youth Parliament in the coming months.

On the education front, we also funded the second stage of Brinbeal Secondary College. Brinbeal Secondary College is a new secondary college. I believe it is in its second or third year at the moment, perhaps third. The Minister for Education and I opened the school a couple of years ago. In terms of infrastructure, Brinbeal Secondary College in Tarneit is as good a government school as you will find anywhere in Victoria, and the funding for its second stage will make that even better again.

We also funded new and extended bus routes: a new bus route 140 from Rockbank station to Tarneit station and also the new route 186, which will go through and service the brand new West Tarneit station – a fantastic budget for my community in Tarneit.