Wednesday, 4 March 2020

Narracan electorate funding

Mr BLACKWOOD (Narracan) (09:42): The state budget is fast approaching, and residents in my electorate of Narracan are hoping it is not yet another year where the Andrews Labor government overlooks West Gippsland. We have a large number of government assets desperately in need of replacement or upgrade due to the pressure of massive population growth across the electorate. Right in the heart of Narracan is the West Gippsland Hospital, which still lives in limbo waiting to hear what the Andrews government’s plans are for health care in our region. Only four of the eight new short-stay beds in the brand-new facility recently completed are open, and meanwhile the emergency department continues to struggle with unprecedented demand. We have local schools that need funding. Drouin Secondary College need their outdoor spaces modernised and covered, and Neerim District Secondary College are well overdue for an extensive upgrade.

As the Drouin and Warragul populations continue to boom, we need funding to extend our town bus services to provide an early morning and evening service to connect commuters to train services and deliver them to work and home. The Moe activity centre project, second stage, has been waiting for state government support since the Napthine government provided funding for the first stage back in 2014. We need real investment in Gippsland V/Line rather than the cuts to funding imposed last year, which delivered consistently unmet punctuality targets. Local community volunteer groups like Olivia’s Place in Warragul need funding so they can continue to deliver their valuable perinatal and postnatal programs.

This budget is an opportunity for the Premier to break the perception in my electorate that he is only governing for Melbourne. If this budget again lets down Narracan and the wider Gippsland region, it will only prove my community was right.