Thursday, 18 March 2021

Motions

Budget papers 2020–21

Debate resumed.

Ms KAIROUZ (Kororoit) (12:03): As I was saying, Melton local government area is one of the fastest growing regions in Australia, and locals within that LGA and its surrounds deserve a 24-hour hospital and the very best health care.

Continuing on the topic of health, this budget will invest $121 million for the delivery of hospital services in the comfort of the patient’s own home. The budget will also provide funding which will support the implementation of responses to the review of the supervised injecting room, including the establishment of a second supervised injecting room. What I have learned during my time in this place is that alcohol and drug addiction does not discriminate, and I am pleased to see that drug and alcohol use is viewed as a health issue rather than a crime issue and that more funding is allocated for specialist positions and more beds for people seeking support and rehabilitation for drug and alcohol use.

Closer to my heart, I am pleased to see the budget supports the mental health needs of asylum seekers and provides material aid like food and clothing, subsidised medication and housing for people that are seeking asylum.

Also within the Melton LGA, I am pleased to see $19.88 million allocated for the busy and dangerous Melton Highway–Leakes Road intersection. This initiative involves a conversion of an unsignalised intersection into one with traffic lights, providing safer access and minimising delays on this very busy intersection. It is one thing that the locals have been asking for for a number of years, and they are very pleased to see that we are finally getting this done.

I now proudly turn to the historic $5.3 billion Big Housing Build to construct more than 12 000 new social and affordable homes over the next four years. My heart certainly swells with pride to see that the budget delivers this unprecedented investment, one that many members of the community wholeheartedly support. Not only does this investment deliver thousands and thousands of crucial jobs, more importantly it invests in the lives of the most vulnerable people in our community. The significant investment in social housing provides tenants with modern 21st-century housing, security and most importantly dignity.

The Andrews Labor government’s ambitious infrastructure agenda is one of the largest in the nation. Many people certainly are watching it, and I am very, very proud of it. This Big Build agenda delivers the removal of dangerous and congested level crossings, the metro rail tunnel, the North East Link, the West Gate Tunnel, the Suburban Rail Loop, the Geelong fast rail and the airport rail, creating 165 000 jobs for Victorians and creating opportunities for apprentices, trainees and engineering cadets. Our TAFE investment supports this ambitious agenda by helping Victorians reskill, upskill and find work, offering 80 000 free TAFE and subsidised training places.

The pandemic has well and truly exposed some of the most vulnerable cohorts in our community, specifically our casual and insecure workers. Workers in the outer suburbs have experienced greater economic impact due to the pandemic; many work in the sectors of construction, hospitality, retail, tourism and the aviation and airline industry. Many have casual and insecure work and sadly have had to choose between a day’s pay and their health. This is proven to be unsafe, dangerous and unfair. I am pleased to see the Andrews Labor government develop a new secure work pilot scheme that provides up to five days of sick and carers leave at the national minimum wage for casual workers, which also includes cleaners, security guards and hospitality and supermarket workers. The budget will provide $5 million for the pilot scheme, which will be finalised after the consultation process with key stakeholders.

There is so much more that I can say about this budget and that I can talk about, but as we are now in the process of starting to prepare for the next budget, I am sure I will have much more to say about that as well. This budget is like no other budget. It is about putting people first, and it certainly leaves no-one behind. As a member of this place that represents the seat of Kororoit, where some of the most vulnerable members of our community live, I am very, very proud to be part of a government that delivers this unprecedented budget to people like those that I represent my community. This budget helps us repair and recover, and it also makes us stronger than ever. I commend the bill to the house and I wish it a speedy passage, and I certainly look forward to speaking on the 2022 budget.

Ms THOMAS (Macedon—Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Regional Development) (12:09): I am very proud to rise today to speak on the take-note motion. The Labor government’s 2020–21 budget was a budget like no other, and I want to congratulate the Treasurer and the Premier on the delivery of this fantastic Labor budget, a budget for its time.

We will never forget that 2020 was a year like no other. It was a year that reminded us all about what is most important—that is, people, their families and their loved ones. This is a budget that does what good Labor governments always do: it puts people first and at the centre of all of our decision-making. It is a budget that will deliver on our promise to build back better, and it is a budget that will deliver for every corner of the state.

As Minister for Regional Development I am so proud that this budget puts regional Victorians at the centre of all that we do, with $8 billion to get regional Victorians back on their feet and to ensure that no-one is left behind in our recovery. It is about getting more Victorians, more regional Victorians, back to work as soon as possible. I really want to take this opportunity to acknowledge my predecessor in the other place, the Attorney-General, for her work to secure this unprecedented investment of $8 billion in regional Victoria. Central to this of course is the $156 million in our Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund. This is a critical Labor policy, the RJIF. It has been central to the delivery of so many exciting projects in regional Victoria, and I would say it has been central to the drive that we have seen for people to make a decision that they want to live, work and raise their families in regional Victoria. This money is so important because it helps us to create and retain jobs and to leverage private sector investment, and I am so proud of the many, many projects that have been supported as a consequence of this fund.

There are so many projects that I could talk about, but I do want to draw the house’s attention to a couple of things. It is really important to understand that out of our $5.2 billion investment in social housing and affordable housing $1 billion will be invested in regional Victoria. This is on a scale that we have never seen and is going to make such a difference to the lives and wellbeing of people in regional Victoria, and it is great to be delivering this speech with so many regional MPs in the house. Of course it is timely to remember that the Labor government has 18 members representing rural and regional Victoria—that is three times as many members at the National Party has in this place—so it is no surprise, with that many MPs advocating so strongly for the regions and our rural communities, that we have had such a fantastic budget.

There is $1 billion on housing and $4.9 billion on country road and rail upgrades. This is something that is incredibly important because transport is a key driver of economic and social success and wellbeing in regional Victoria. $465 million will not just support the visitor economy to recover but help deliver our reform program in regional tourism to ensure that Victorians and others, when they are able to do so, will look forward to a trip in regional Victoria as they perhaps may have once thought about a trip overseas. There is so much to see and do across beautiful regional Victoria. You know that very well, Deputy Speaker, as indeed your electorate is one of the most highly visited in the state. There is a lot to be said for our investments in regional Victoria. I do want to make the point that since being in government we have created more than 80 000 jobs in regional Victoria, and right now unemployment has fallen to 4.6 per cent. That is almost 2 per cent lower than under the previous government.

Our investment in agriculture is also second to none, and I am very proud to be working to deliver our state’s agricultural strategy. Some of the key investments that I am pleased to be able to deliver include $15 million to help our farmers better access ag tech, $20 million to support our farmers to expand their export potential, $30 million to extend the very successful agriculture energy investment plan, which puts money back into farmers’ pockets, and $50 million to support the next generation of farmers. It has been really wonderful to get out and about and meet some of our young farmers, and indeed we have a young farmers advisory council that is supporting me to understand what the particular needs of both young farmers and first-time farmers are. We are doing some excellent work in supporting our very important, significant agriculture sector.

I will turn locally and talk a little bit now about my beautiful electorate of Macedon. It is such a privilege to represent this part of Victoria. People say to me when you look around the towns that make up my electorate, the difference in those communities now to when I was elected in 2014 is unbelievable, what has been created and built. I come back to this point every time. The member for Sunbury, in a members statement the other day, spoke about our investment in the Sunbury and Macedon Ranges Specialist School. Our investment in the specialist school across Sunbury and Bullengarook at $20 million is $5 million more than the previous Liberal government invested in the entire electorate over their entire four years. That tells you something about the key differences between Labor governments and what we stand for and what we deliver and what those on the other side do. No wonder they were kicked out of government.

I will be working hard every day to continue to deliver for the people of my community in the areas that are most important to them, and that is investing in our roads, investing in our schools and ensuring that the amenity of my community continues to grow. Sporting facilities are very important in the community that I represent. As all of our 18 regional members know, sport is at the heart of so many regional communities. When I reflect on the changes that have been made under the Andrews Labor government with our investment in girls’ and women’s change facilities, that has changed the culture of so many sporting clubs right across the state. Girls and women are feeling welcome for really the first time to play their sports—to play netball, to play football and to play cricket—and to participate like never before. These are the things that really matter in my community. I am delighted that our Andrews Labor government continues to invest in the things that matter.

I do want to talk about 2020 and the challenging year that we had as a consequence of the coronavirus. We all know it. We all felt it. We were all on the receiving end of calls from members of our constituencies who were struggling through that year and who were anxious about what the future held for them. We also know that when we look at who was most impacted by the pandemic and we look at the consequences of the shake-up in employment, women really bore the brunt of so many impacts of the pandemic. Not least they were most likely to be balancing the need to supervise their children who were learning from home while also trying to work at home, and not surprisingly, because women hold a disproportionate number of the insecure and casual jobs in our community, they were amongst the first to lose work during the pandemic.

What we have done is very deliberate. I am so proud also, I have got to say, to be part of a government where almost 50 per cent of our caucus are women. What are we sitting on? 48.9 per cent are women. The difference is when you look at us and you look at that lot over there, the needs and the issues that are important to women are front and centre of our policy development. This to me says it all really: Neil Mitchell described this budget as sexist because it has a focus on women. To me that was a badge of honour. I think it is really great to know that our budget is focused on really delivering for women. I talked about women being on the front line of the pandemic, and I do also want to mention the critical role that women have played in the essential work during the pandemic, from working at the supermarket to working in the cleaning industry and of course at the front line of so much health service delivery—still being the highest proportion of nurses—

Ms Green: Education, aged care.

Ms THOMAS: education and aged care. Women were front and centre of that frontline response. So during last year, in many phone calls that I received and the Zoom meetings that I held with my constituents, the women in my community told me about the impact that the pandemic had on them, and I was so glad that the 2020 budget took immediate steps to address the needs of the women who lost their jobs during the pandemic. We are providing $250 million in the budget to create around 10 000 jobs using wage subsidies to support Victorians to find steady employment, and at least $150 million of this funding will go towards getting women back in work—I think that is the bit that Neil Mitchell did not like—of which $50 million is targeted support for women over 45, who we know face additional barriers. For women who want to train or retrain, we are delivering $631 million for free TAFE and subsidised training places plus an additional $155 million to provide access to those who are most impacted by the pandemic. We also know that Victorian women often find it hard to break into the male-dominated world of startups and can be left behind. That is why we have established the $10 million Women’s Angel Sidecar Fund to back women’s startups, to help them grow and to help women achieve their dreams.

This is a brilliant budget focused on jobs, because here in the Labor Party we understand the importance of a good secure job. A good secure job is about a person having agency and control over the life that they want to lead. Here on this side of the house we believe in the dignity of all labour. As I said before, the pandemic exposed the workers who we really turn to, who we really need, in the times of crisis, and they are often women workers, they are often some of the lower paid workers in our community and they are often workers who are in insecure and casual employment. For me this was one of the big lessons that we learned during the pandemic.

This is a brilliant budget. It is about putting people first. I might also say I was delighted that it also allocates another $10 million to Kyneton High School to ensure that it will continue to be one of the leading secondary colleges in my electorate. I have got three government schools. They are all brilliant. They are all doing well. They have all had investment from this great Labor government. This is a budget that, as I said, puts people first. It reflects the values that those on this side of the house hold so dear. I am so proud of it, and I cannot wait to get up again and talk about this year’s budget in a few short months. Thank you very much. I commend this brilliant budget to the house.

Ms SULEYMAN (St Albans) (12:24): I too rise to speak on the Appropriation (2020-2021) Bill 2020. Let me say, taking the next turn after the member for Macedon and her passionate contribution, this is surely an amazing budget for my community in St Albans. Not only is it again delivering on our commitments, but most importantly it is investing in the west. We continue building the Education State, connecting our local communities and more importantly, by investing into local infrastructure, creating those vital jobs. We are ensuring that not only the constituents in my electorate of St Albans but also those in the western region get the best health care. Just recently—yesterday—I had the pleasure of joining the Acting Premier and the Minister for Health in opening the fantastic $34 million emergency department at Sunshine Hospital. Let me tell you it is our government, it is this government that has actually built brick by brick not only Sunshine Hospital but also the new Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s Hospital. With the multistorey addition they are specifically targeting having a children’s ward in the emergency department. It is our government that has actually delivered on this absolutely important infrastructure for the people of the west.

We have spoken about the emergency department. It includes 55 additional treatment spaces, a medical imaging centre and, most importantly, as I said, a unit for children, making it bigger and better and, most importantly, reducing the waiting times. I know my constituents are extremely supportive of making sure that during their time of need and pain they are not waiting very long periods in very uncomfortable spaces. I am really, really proud to have joined the Acting Premier and the Minister for Health in opening the new emergency department.

As we have heard, there is no doubt that the last 12 months have been extremely tough on Victoria. Of course every single person has felt during the pandemic that it has been extremely difficult, but most importantly I want to commend our healthcare workers. I am very passionate about Sunshine Hospital and the great work that they do. Just yesterday I heard that Sunshine Hospital dealt with 46 per cent of all COVID cases. That is a mammoth figure, and it just shows you the great work that all the healthcare workers are actually doing at Western Health.

Another passion of mine is education. In St Albans we are delivering and building at Monmia Primary School in Keilor Downs. They received a further $6.9 million to build a brand new STEM centre, and principal Lorraine Bell said that the Andrews government has brought such joy to Monmia Primary School:

This announcement is one of the most amazing opportunities—

for us—

… in my 15 years as principal.

That really sums up what it means for this school.

And of course there is Jackson School. I was absolutely moved when I visited the school and met with principal Joan O’Connor-Cox. They received $10 million to build quality teaching areas, but most importantly they have been able to deliver the second stage of Jackson special school. The feedback from parents and the school community has been absolutely amazing. Giving every child, regardless of their postcode, the opportunity to learn and to prosper is so important to our government, and I am absolutely ecstatic that they have received $10 million.

Another school that has benefited from this budget is the Furlong Park School for Deaf Children. What an amazing school that is, not only for St Albans but also the western region. We committed $9.4 million, and they will be able to deliver and build their master plan works for the next stage of their school development. I do want to shout out to the principal, Lee Bullock, and all the teachers for the fantastic work that they do in such challenging circumstances at times. When I had the opportunity to visit the school, it was just amazing to see the children and the message that they sent to our Premier and to the Minister for Education.

This is what Labor budgets do. They deliver to people and communities regardless of their postcodes. Those are our values, and quite clearly we are investing not only in education and our schools but also in free kinder in 2021. I know how important it is to make sure you get the proper education from day one, and that includes investing in kinder. Families will be able to save up to $2000 per child. And also we are boosting out-of-hours care. In addition to free kinder, we are making sure that we are bringing forward the school readiness funding, and that means close to $800 000 more for St Albans kinders. This is about, as I said, giving kids the best start in life and making sure that they have the appropriate support—and not only kids but kids living with disabilities as well. And we are rolling out additional upgrades as we get ready for universal three-year-old kinder, and I am looking forward to next week joining the minster as we visit Ardeer Primary School; we are actually building a joint kinder at that school site.

So after a challenging 2020 families deserve to have one less worry and concern. I know that families in St Albans have been doing it tough, but I am also very proud of our families, because in times of challenges we saw the community unite and take care of one another. Whether it was the school communities, whether it was our community organisations, whether it was our religious institutions as well, everybody joined together to take care of one another, and that is really the essence and the spirit of the St Albans community.

Another thing—and I know that my constituents have embraced this—has been the household energy savings package and the $250 power saving bonus to help eligible families with their energy bills. I know that a lot of families and pensioners have advised me that this is something that they just needed a bit of relief with. As I said, this is a government that understands the pressures on working families and understands the pressures on seniors and pensioners and those that are doing it tough, so I am really happy that this program was put forward by our government.

We are making sure that we are supporting families, supporting children, and also a further $200 million we are going to be investing in Western Health for new equipment. Also additional beds in our mental health system are being proposed and invested in. We know—we have heard—that the system is broken, and we know that the west has many challenges, but by providing the support and the funding and by including 52 new mental health beds at Sunshine Hospital we are improving the quality of health care but most importantly making sure that we do have the right supports and assistance and that those who need the system are able to get that support. That is integral, and I am really pleased to see those 52 mental health beds going to Sunshine Hospital.

We are making so many more investments when it comes to our health. As I said, just yesterday I was part of the opening of the new emergency department. And I note the Minister for Health is at the table, and I thank him for his excellent leadership in this space and for making sure that Sunshine Hospital, with the new Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s Hospital, continues to get the appropriate support from our government.

But we are not just stopping with health, we are also building social and affordable homes. And it is fantastic to see that we will invest $5.3 billion, which means 12 000 new homes. And I know—my electorate covers the City of Brimbank—how important it is for those who are doing it tough, those who need a roof over their head, that they do have the support to be able to access safe and appropriate accommodation. As part of this package of delivering 12 000 new homes, this will also mean a further 18 000 new jobs created, and that is fantastic. I know it means a lot to my apprentices, because 10 per cent will be dedicated to new apprentices, cadets and trainees. I know Victoria University and the polytechnic in Sunshine will embrace this plan.

The core of this government is about creating jobs—creating 200 000 jobs by 2022 and then 400 000 jobs by 2025. Also, as we have heard previously, it will add a secure work pilot scheme to tackle insecure work. We know in St Albans the challenges when it comes to insecure work, and this government is taking steps to provide five days of sick and carers leave, and that is absolutely important to the families of St Albans. This is about giving people security, stability and, more importantly, a real chance to find their feet and really be able to prosper in their communities.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the airport rail link. That will create an absolute transformation of Sunshine and St Albans for my community. This will mean that Victoria will connect to Sunshine. We have already seen $5 billion committed by our government and the federal government. As I said, Sunshine will become a gateway to the world and also every single part of Victoria—joining at Sunshine. This means connecting to health care and education and, most importantly, having one of the best public transport connections. What it will mean for the constituents in my community of St Albans is that they will have many more transport options and be one stop away from the world, and that really gives me great joy, creating those jobs of the future, providing opportunities, but most importantly giving our locals a fair go. This is one of the nation’s largest transport infrastructure projects, and it is in the heart of the electorate of St Albans, so I am looking forward to watching and really making sure that my local community is connected to this absolutely amazing project.

Just down the road we are expanding the Sunshine law courts. Close to $27 million will be invested to make sure that our law courts are appropriate. We are also investing into our local parks, including one in Sunshine and one in Sunshine North. But let me say that we have also seen some minor capital works for schools such as Albion Primary School, to upgrade their basketball and sports courts, and also for University Park Primary School as well in St Albans and of course St Albans Primary School. This is fantastic for our local schools, and as I said, since I have been elected we have seen an enormous investment into our local schools. Some schools have never seen investment by a government before at this level, so it really shows our passion and our values when it comes to education, because we understand the value of education and we understand that it should not be based on the postcode you live in.

There is so much more I could talk about in the budget, but I am looking forward to the next couple of months, with further announcements for the community of St Albans. This is a budget that puts people first. It continues to redevelop and revitalise St Albans. It continues to place St Albans at the heart of the west.

Ms GREEN (Yan Yean) (12:39): I will start where the member for St Albans left off really in speaking on this take-note motion on the budget of last year. It was such a good budget. It was brought down in November, and we are still talking about it. The member for St Albans said that this was a budget that really nailed Labor’s colours to the mast; it was about values. I think particularly your values really stand you in good stead when there is a crisis like the world has been living in—our state, our nation—with the COVID pandemic. It was a break from the tradition of all the budgets that I have been around in that we have always had a commitment to surplus budgets and in fact delivered surplus budgets in all my time in the Parliament. We are moving with the advice of the governor of the Reserve Bank—whose advice to all governments in this nation was to fill in the gap. With the private sector absolutely doing it tough and not being able to invest, it was the time for governments to invest. We have invested, and we have invested consistent with our values.

The member for St Albans and other members have talked about the commitment to education. Servicing my electorate and that of the member for Eltham, there is $10 million for the Diamond Valley Special Developmental School. Nothing says more about your values than when you fund services and facilities for those most in need. Kids with disabilities and their families need all the support in the world, and they need support from our government. I have been in this place for over 18 years now, and I had the pleasure to visit the Diamond Valley Special Developmental School with the member for Eltham the day before the budget and give them the good news. Because of COVID we could not actually do it to a mass audience, but we were able to go there and meet with the principal and the deputy principal and unfurl a banner and give them a drum roll and a lead-up. To see their faces, knowing that they were getting $10 million—I have been part of many large announcements with many more dollars than this one, but I think there was hardly another one that gave me such joy.

Consistent with our commitment to students with disabilities, I am really glad that there was a further $1.6 billion to transform support for students with disability. That is doubling the number of students receiving extra support to 55 000 students. This will also create up to 1730 jobs across the state, with the additional staff that will be needed to provide that support to students. I want to pay tribute to the Speaker, the member for Bundoora. I know that he did a lot of work, at the request of the now Premier when we were in opposition, on policy in this area. It is something that maybe we had all thought was a pipedream—to actually get down to this level of support for students with disability. It really was that work by the Speaker, the member for Bundoora, that policy work, that made this budget announcement possible. It is going to include a lot of those students that have previously fallen through the cracks—you know, without an absolute, defined diagnosis of why they might be developmentally delayed or just struggling with being on that wide spectrum of ASD disabilities. It really is tough for parents to get answers. I know I have heard the Premier speak about this many times, saying that sometimes it is not even a matter of money, because this can afflict families that have actually got reasonably deep pockets, but sometimes there just is not the right answer and you cannot find the right professional to assist your child. For us to be doing it within the state school system and wrapping support around these children and families is something that I am particularly proud of with this budget.

Kids are back in the classroom this year, and I had the great pleasure of starting my week by visiting Mernda Park Primary School, which has now got about 350 students. I think this is their seventh year of operation. Principal Mary Ryan is a local, and she has got a great local team of teachers there delivering a great standard of education. I was really rapt to go and present the leadership badges to that school. That is a school that we built on coming to office. Now we are seeing the biggest single investment in our schools so that we can bring many other schools up to the standard of new schools like Mernda Park, Mernda Central College and others.

Wallan Primary School is going to get a new competition-grade gym. I must admit I have not represented the Mitchell shire part of my electorate for that long—only since the last redistribution—but I was absolutely stunned on going into the school’s gymnasium. I had been to the school many times, but I had just not been invited into the gym. The gym on the outside looks like a reasonably new building; I think it was probably only built in the 1990s. Inside the gym for some reason—I do not know who ever signed off that build, and I am glad we have got expertise now in the Victorian School Building Authority that ensures we do get good-quality outcomes—the roof leaks. It actually has a floor-to-ceiling gap in one corner of the building that is about half a metre wide. Obviously it was a mistake by whoever constructed it. Ann, the principal there, and their staff and the students—you know, Wallan is a pretty windy place—have wind and rain blowing in through that gap in the building. I have never seen anything like it anywhere, so I am really delighted that Wallan Primary is getting a competition-grade gym that will be open for community access. It will mean those kids and the staff are not having to deal with the buckets on the floor for the water and all that dust and dirt. The amount that must go on cleaning, and the risk that is posed to students from slipping over on dirt because it is blowing in—I was speechless. I am so glad that the budget has responded to my agitation around this matter.

There are other projects. My electorate has the highest number of construction workers in the state, so anything that is around buildings my community just loves, because that puts dollars in the pockets of mums and dads in my community, meaning that they are able to put food on the table for their kids, pay off their mortgages and spend money in the local businesses.

There are projects underway now at Diamond Creek East Primary with their admin building, which was the only building remaining there that needed to be upgraded. At Diamond Valley College a building there, their new science and technology wing, is nearing completion. They will get handover and the keys to that building very soon.

Victoria’s amazing, amazing social housing spend in this budget—I am delighted that two out of the three municipalities that I represent are targets for this social housing spend: the City of Whittlesea and the Shire of Mitchell. I will also be very much encouraging some of that spend to be in the Shire of Nillumbik too, which is where I live. Just because Nillumbik is socio-economically a more well-heeled part of the greater Melbourne area does not mean that you do not have cohorts—people with disability and it does not matter what your social strata, women of my age and older are retiring on lower incomes. If they have had a family breakdown or if they are widowed—or indeed if they have not had a partner and have been on their own—they are retiring in poverty. I do not subscribe to this view of ‘not in my backyard’ of people that oppose social housing. Social housing is for your neighbours, the person who serves you in the shop, those front-line workers in the supermarket, in cleaning and in aged care. I want the women of Nillumbik and people with disability to be able to age in place and have access to good-quality social housing, and I am not going to brook any ‘not in my backyard’ conversations about the Shire of Nillumbik.

I know that the build will be embraced within the City of Whittlesea. People living in that municipality understand how important construction and the growth of housing and diversity of housing are. With the Shire of Mitchell, Beveridge and Wallan in my electorate are inside the urban growth boundary but they are actually in a regional shire, so I call that a special economic zone. New houses being built in that area continue to get double the first home owner grant of other parts of the state, and businesses establishing in the Shire of Mitchell get access to the lowest payroll tax in the country. That is why Regional Development Victoria is saying that the Hume region, of which Mitchell is part, is the second-highest area, second only to the South-West Coast—the Warrnambool area—in terms of the number of people inquiring about real estate and potentially making that move to regional Victoria.

It is an absolute dream of mine to see that people, particularly in Wallan and Beveridge, do not have to travel to work anymore, that there will be more businesses setting up there so that they can actually work close to home, but also that there will be businesses setting up there so that other people from the northern suburbs will actually travel outwards to work. We have seen with the pandemic that more people want to work from home, and people have understood that they just want to work closer to home. I think having more businesses setting up in interface shires like the Shire of Mitchell will mean that more people in the growth areas of the northern suburbs—say, in Hume and Whittlesea—will be travelling outwards to work. It is a very efficient use of infrastructure to be travelling on the opposite side of the road to where most of the traffic is going and also to be filling up the seats of trains travelling in the opposite direction.

I am delighted to see that in our commitment to supporting jobs and coming back from the pandemic there will be a new skills and job centre established as part of the North East Link Project, which is Victoria’s biggest ever road building project that will really, really be a game changer for my electorate in terms of congestion. I know that with the Mernda rail project having a job centre there helped many disadvantaged workers get back into work. They had targets and definitely went over their targets for the employment of Indigenous people and particularly getting women into construction. I know that centre will be of assistance.

It was great to see the Growing Suburbs Fund get $75 million over this financial year. That fund just continues to deliver for outer suburban communities, whether it is playgrounds or playing spaces. I was delighted to officially open with the member for Eltham and Peter Perkins, the mayor of Nillumbik, a great mate of mine, the Diamond Creek Regional Playspace last weekend. It was really great to see the member for Eltham be the first on that flying fox, followed not long after by the mayor. I think it was the photo of the year, the member for Eltham being on that flying fox. It is just big kids and small kids really benefiting from the great playgrounds that have been built by the Growing Suburbs Fund. Other projects like the netball pavilion in Diamond Creek that will soon be officially opened will be followed up by new court playing surfaces there. Our investment in community sport has never been better. I want to thank all the ministers that I get to work with as the Parliamentary Secretary for Sport: the Minister for Community Sport, the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events and the newly minted Minister for Regional Development, who gave her budget contribution before. This is a budget that delivers for all Victorians, and I look forward to the next one in a very few short months.

Mr MAAS (Narre Warren South) (12:54): It too gives me pleasure to rise to speak to the take-note motion on the 2020–21 budget, and it is always a pleasure to follow the member for Yan Yean as well, a very passionate advocate for her community. My contribution to this debate will be truncated somewhat with lunch due in about 6 minutes, but it will give me the opportunity to talk to some of the projects which are happening in my community.

When you speak to constituents in my electorate, the things that concern them first and foremost are jobs. This budget delivers those in spades, not only the jobs themselves but the ability to get to work and back home faster as well. That is particularly important in the electorate of Narre Warren South as it is a residential electorate with no industry within it. With the community itself being on the outer fringes of the south-eastern suburban network, it is very important that we have transport to be able to get around, and good roads to get around quickly as well.

In the time I have remaining, I will just quickly go through some of these projects which are providing jobs and speediness on our roads and our public transport networks. Firstly to public transport infrastructure, of course the announcement of the Melbourne Airport rail link will be huge for my community. Some $5 billion has been contributed to that by the state government, and that will mean an airport rail link via the Pakenham line, which will mean no need to change trains for my community. Obviously that is in the planning stages, with completion due in 2029.

For the South Gippsland Highway between Lynbrook Boulevard and the Dandenong bypass, $12.63 million has been put towards widening it at strategic points to increase capacity and optimise traffic flows there. We also have two level crossing removal projects which are currently taking place.

Members interjecting.

Mr MAAS: Absolutely amazing. We have got one happening at the Clyde Road level crossing in Berwick, with expected completion next year. That is part of the overall $15 billion Level Crossing Removal Project scheme. As well as that, we have the Hallam station level crossing removal works, where there will also be a new station built.

In terms of education, Hampton Park Secondary College is getting a massive funding boost with $7.6 million, and that will go towards a wellness centre for that school. That is on top of $3.9 million which was previously announced for upgrading classrooms and facilities, and an additional $2.62 million for double-storey classrooms, which have already begun to be built. Strathaird Primary School is a school in the electorate which has a very strong focus on the environment and climate change not only in its curriculum but also the physical structures that it has built. Strathaird Primary School, I am very pleased to announce, received $10 million within this budget to upgrade and modernise those facilities and to help prepare it to be a school for the future that delivers on those environmental and climate change programs that it has.

When you are creating jobs, TAFE and training become particularly important, and there was $631 million announced in this budget, with up to 80 000 free TAFE and subsidised training places, with almost 60 000 in recovery areas to help people reskill, upskill and find work. There is $155 million to support Victorians affected by COVID and as a result of the pandemic to retrain, and $33 million for the Big Build training pathway to support 1500 apprentices and trainees with opportunities for employment.

As I did say, my contribution has been truncated somewhat. I have not even been able to go into housing or talk about health.

Sitting suspended 1.00 pm until 2.03 p.m.

Ms D’AMBROSIO (Mill Park—Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Minister for Solar Homes) (14:03): I move:

That the debate be adjourned.

Motion agreed to and debate adjourned.

Ordered that debate be adjourned until later this day.