Thursday, 2 May 2019

Government advertising

Ms LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (10:49): Is there anything Daniel Andrews will not do to protect his mate Bill Shorten and help Labor win the upcoming federal election? Firstly, the Andrews Labor government decided to postpone the Victorian state budget until late May, well after the federal election, in a clear attempt to protect Mr Shorten and his federal colleagues. The Premier does not want Victorians to know how bad Labor is at managing the economy before they cast their vote on 18 May. One suspects the upcoming state budget will be loaded with taxes, debt and cuts to services.

Not happy just to delay the budget, the arrogance of Mr Andrews knows no bounds as he spends $1 million of Victorian taxpayers money to help get Bill Shorten elected. Let us reflect on what $1 million in funding would do in the Shepparton electorate. One million dollars would fully fund the vital People Supporting People organisation for the next 19 years to continue to help homelessness and disadvantaged people in Shepparton. One million dollars would provide 500 000 breakfasts for Shepparton schoolchildren who currently rely on the Shepparton breakfast program. It would fully fund four mental health beds every day for one year at Goulburn Valley Health to help Shepparton patients suffering from mental illness, or provide the Greater Shepparton Lighthouse Project with enough funding for the next three years to support 660 disadvantaged Shepparton children.

Daniel Andrews and the Victorian Labor Party should be condemned for spending $1 million of Victorian taxpayers money on Labor’s federal election campaign instead of spending it on assisting Victorians in need.