Thursday, 9 June 2022

Members statements

Regional development

Ms LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (10:17): It is a pleasure to rise to speak on how regional Victoria will finally get its fair share of infrastructure funding under an elected Matthew Guy Liberal government. The 25 per cent regional infrastructure guarantee implemented in the first term of a Liberal government will deliver at least a quarter of all new government capital investment to regional communities. In stark contrast, successive Labor governments have adopted a city-centric approach to infrastructure funding, denying regional Victorians their fair share of state government funding. Regional Victoria has continuously missed out under Daniel Andrews and Labor, with less than 13 per cent of capital spending in the 2022–23 state budget estimated to be directly allocated to regional Victoria and just 11.4 per cent allocated in the 2021–22 state budget for major state asset investment, being projects of $100 million or more. This year the Andrews Labor government will invest only 13 per cent of its infrastructure spend in regional Victoria while it squanders billions on mismanaged projects in the city and ignores major projects in northern Victoria, including the Shepparton bypass, the Mildura hospital and the Bendigo Art Gallery redevelopment. Only a Guy Liberal government will ensure regional Victoria gets its fair share of infrastructure funding to help all Victorians recover, rebuild and thrive.