Thursday, 1 August 2024

Motions

Budget papers 2024–25

Debate resumed on motion of Jaclyn Symes:

That the budget papers 2024–25 be taken into consideration.

Ryan BATCHELOR (Southern Metropolitan) (15:00): It is very pleasing to be given the opportunity to make a contribution in the chamber today about the state budget, which is an important document. Obviously there is a lot of material contained in the state budget, and it is incredibly important, very useful in fact, to be able to be given the opportunity following the budget to make some contributions about the important initiatives that have been funded in this year’s state budget, which was handed down by the Treasurer in May, and to talk a bit further about the impacts that the budget and its initiatives are having in our local community.

I want to start with what I think is probably one of the most important, if underdiscussed, elements of the budget, which is in the economic framework that the Treasurer has taken to thinking about as necessary expenditure that the budget provides for, and that is in the early intervention investment framework that the budget establishes. This is a multibillion-dollar investment framework that seeks to invest in the sorts of early intervention social programs we need in our communities to help those who are particularly vulnerable, who are particularly disadvantaged, because we know that giving them the support and the help that they need when they may be in the early stages of crisis will deliver significant benefits to the community but also to the state budget in later years. That early investment in the sorts of services to support some of the most vulnerable in the community not only has the potential but has been demonstrated to yield the need for less investment in those people by our social services later on in their lives. That is the fundamental basis on which the early intervention investment framework works, and it is something that has been particularly driven and championed by the Treasurer. I want to give him an absolute big pat on the back for the approach that he has taken to making sure that we are investing early to support the most vulnerable in our community.

One of the measures that was invested in under the early intervention investment framework in this year’s state budget was the Journey to Social Inclusion program, which is led by the Sacred Heart Mission on Grey Street in St Kilda. I had the absolute pleasure of visiting Sacred Heart with the Minister for Housing and the member for Albert Park recently to hear firsthand about this program they run called the Journey to Social Inclusion program, which is targeted at those experiencing homelessness and those who are rough sleeping to provide them with the security and certainty of three years of extensive support, skills development, housing and other forms of wraparound support so that they can help get their lives back on track. We visited Sacred Heart Mission with the minister and the member for Albert Park shortly after the budget to confirm that $45 million out of the early intervention investment framework was going to fund the Sacred Heart Mission, along with some of its other non-government sector partners including Uniting and the Salvation Army, to provide the Journey to Social Inclusion program with additional funding over the coming years.

We had the opportunity to meet with some of the individuals who are benefiting from the support that the early intervention investment framework provides. Those often are not the headlines that you see on budget night, the $45 million that we are putting in to support those who are homeless or rough sleeping. But they are investments that are the hallmark of this Labor government, and they are the investments that will be able to change the lives of some of the most vulnerable in our community. I wanted to start my contribution taking note of this budget by calling out how important those early intervention frameworks are and how important the investment in homelessness and support services is for so many in our community. I am absolutely proud to be part of a government that believes in that sort of investment.

The other thing that I think is a hallmark of this budget is the further assistance that the Treasurer announced on budget day about delivering cost-of-living support to families. We absolutely know from the discussions that we have with members of our community on a weekly basis just how difficult many families are finding it with the rising cost of living. We hear, we understand and we listen. That is exactly what the budget this year demonstrated: that the government is listening to families, who have been telling us they are struggling with the cost of living. It has some really critical measures contained within it to support families with the cost of living.

Obviously the big-ticket item, the headline item, in our cost-of-living package for families in the state budget was the $400 school saving bonus, providing for the next calendar year – calendar year 2025 – $400 for every student in government schools into an account to be spent on things like school uniforms, excursions, class lists and consumables, those sorts of materials that are the added extras that many families have got to dip into their pockets to pay for. Thanks to the Allan Labor government, thanks to this year’s state budget, in the next school year $400 will be there for every child in a government school to benefit from, significantly easing the worry that I know many parents face when they are trying to figure whether they can afford to send their kids on a school excursion, whether they can afford to send their kids on a school camp, whether their kids are going to have a school uniform. Relieving those pressures, relieving that stress and providing the benefits to those families is exactly what the $400 school saving bonus, funded in the state budget this year, delivered next year, is absolutely all about. And it is on top of the other cost-of-living relief that we are providing as a state government to families with kids in schools.

We have tripled the Glasses for Kids program. Another $6.8 million was invested in this year’s state budget in the Glasses for Kids program, tripling that program and allowing 74,000 more prep to grade 3 students at 473 government schools across the state to get access to that glasses program. It provides free screening and glasses for students who need them, helping to identify vision issues in kids early on, because if you cannot see the blackboard, you cannot see the chalkboard and you cannot see the teacher, you cannot learn in our classrooms. It is why our government is providing support for those who need it, to give our kids the glasses so that they can learn in the classroom. It is a very similar approach that we take to oral health care in our schools. The Smile Squad also had funding continued in this budget, giving kids who are eligible, when the Smile Squad van visits their government schools, the opportunity to get their dental check-ups. It means no longer having to do the administrative juggle of getting kids to the dentist and avoiding additional out-of-pocket costs.

There is also an extension in the state budget of the Get Active Kids vouchers. We have already provided 140,000 of these vouchers to help young Victorians play the sport that they love. This budget provided an additional $6 million to extend the program, which provides vouchers of up to $200 to help eligible families cover the cost of sports. That is in addition to the active schools program, which is providing $116 million to help schools to run things like swimming and water safety programs for their students. We know how important it is for kids to have structured active activities. We also know how important it is for them to learn how to be safe around the water, and that is what our investments are delivering on. I think just there you have an example of the sort of cost-of-living support, the cost-of-living relief, that the Allan Labor government is providing to families, because we know families need support. We know that families are under pressure with the cost of living. We are listening to what they are telling us, and we are delivering the support that they need.

I just want to make brief mention of some of the other initiatives that were of particular benefit in the state budget to some of the schools in Southern Metropolitan Region. In particular many of the Jewish schools in the Southern Metropolitan Region have had increased concerns about security. There was a Jewish community security infrastructure program as part of a $6 million package. Local faith-based schools have received major funding to help maintain and improve security measures. The safer Victorian faith-based schools package included several schools in the Southern Metropolitan Region, which received support. Yeshivah college received $120,000 for building access controls. Beth Rivkah, which I went and had a visit with on budget day, received $100,000 for building access controls. Leibler Yavneh College received $120,000 to fund additional registered security guards and install additional CCTV cameras – again, I was there on budget day. It was great to meet with principal Shula Lazar and David Fisher from the school. And Sholem Aleichem College received $162,000 to fund additional security upgrades. We are out and about, talking with members of the Jewish community in Southern Metropolitan Region, and we understand the increased concerns that they have, particularly for their children, at a time of increased tensions in our community. We do see them manifest in a range of ways. We are proud in this budget to be providing support to the Jewish community through the safer faith-based schools initiative to provide necessary assistance to improve security at these schools.

I also had the great delight on budget day of going down to the tennis centre on Royal Avenue in Sandringham. The tennis club is going to get $150,000 to install some new LED light towers. Tim, who runs the tennis centre on Royal Avenue near the council offices in Sandringham, was very delighted to receive the news, which will enable them to put on more classes, put on more sessions and lessons, particularly at night. We know that not everyone during the day has the time, given work and study and other family commitments, to get out and do the kind of active participation in sport and recreation that they would like, and the provision of lights like this enables them to do that after hours.

We also had, shortly after the budget announcement, funding for lighting upgrades at the Dane Road Reserve in Moorabbin for the Racing Rugby Club of Melbourne. They are, in partnership with the City of Kingston, getting the installation of new LED light towers, which will enable both the rugby club and cricket club who use the facilities at Dane Road, next door to Moorabbin Primary School, to have both training and competition facilities available to them for extended periods through the year. Often in winter it gets dark early, and the club has been unable to train at their ground on Dane Road. The installation of these new lights will be of significant benefit to them.

The last thing briefly I will mention is the important investment that the budget is making in some of the facilities at the Alfred, obviously one of the state’s pre-eminent trauma centres – an important hospital for the state but also for residents in Southern Metropolitan Region. The budget allocated $118 million for capital works at the Alfred hospital – for maintaining operating theatres, intensive care and inpatient units and continuing their life-saving work – demonstrating the importance of the continued investment that this budget is making in our health system, in our health infrastructure. I visited the Alfred recently with the Deputy Premier and my colleagues, including Mr Berger, touring some of the exceptional research facilities at the Burnet, but also we had a look around the cardiovascular unit at the Alfred to see the extensive work that they are doing. I have also had the opportunity to visit some of the other wards in previous visits. $118 million for the Alfred – a continuation of the investment that we are making. This budget delivers for Victoria.

Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (15:15): I too am pleased to talk on this take-note budget motion. I guess there are many that would characterise this budget as pretty nonchalant, because it really does not do much to help Victorians. It is a careless budget that is inflicting a lot of damage on the future prospects of this state. When you see the path that this budget leads us down where we will have debt of $188 billion, you have to wonder who is really at the forefront of those thoughts. Interest will be $25 million a day every day. This government has ladled all this debt on every single Victorian. Who pays for that debt? It may not be the people in this room. It is future generations of young people that are tomorrow’s taxpayers. They are the ones that will have to pay it back through higher property taxes, through higher taxes on basically every activity they want to do and perhaps even on dying soon unfortunately – we have heard reports that that could be the case. The debt hole is so deep that it might even get to China. We are just digging our way to China, aren’t we? If you pop out the other end, you might see your old boss Daniel Andrews there. It is intergenerational debt that is the problem here, and that is what Victorians are going to be faced with.

Let me go through some of the challenges that we have with this budget. Major projects have had, over the course of Labor governments here, $40 billion in blowouts. Forty billion dollars is no small amount at all when I think of the local projects that could have been funded in Ballarat, in my area. The budget certainly did not fund a train platform opposite Mars Stadium. We know that the Commonwealth Games have been cancelled and $600 million was wasted, and that is only the tip of the iceberg. Six hundred million dollars was wasted, and the government cannot even fund a train platform opposite Mars Stadium. We know that the government have put together a package that is meant to have a regional athletics facility in the Mars Stadium area, but they expect people from Ballarat to get off a train at the station and get an Uber or a bus or something to Mars Stadium instead of building a platform right opposite when the train line literally goes right past the stadium. It just beggars belief. It is the most commonsense project that could have been handed to the government on a silver platter, and it was ignored. Well, that is not unusual, because all regional Victorians get ignored by this state government.

Let us look at the Suburban Rail Loop. That is meant to cost over $200 billion over the course of that project, all spent from Cheltenham to Box Hill. What happens to country Victoria? We are barely able to get our roads fixed properly, yet $200 billion will be spent in the city. It is so unfair. The Big Build and the cost overruns there – we know the involvement with the CFMEU, don’t we? They love the CFMEU, love bikie gangs but hate workers, because they are the ones that are suffering and they are tarnished through this. It is really unfortunate that the alleged corruption has taken place in this state, and it has been very well reported. But what happens? Nonchalant, turning a blind eye, did not really see anything here.

We have only had the Premier overseeing this. She had been in construction portfolios for the last 10 years. She ignored the problem, and then when it did come up – ‘I didn’t know anything about this. Where did this come from? I’d better do something.’ The fact is she has been forced to do something about it. It is an absolute disgrace. We need accountability, but I daresay we will not get that. Much like she would not appear before the Commonwealth Games inquiry, I dare say the Premier will not appear before any other inquiry, because we know that the government did not want to set one up, as we saw yesterday, to get some truth and honesty and integrity around these matters.

The housing crisis continues to affect Victorians every single day, and we see homelessness on the rise, which is extremely unfortunate. I have had locals in Ballarat trying to develop land, and they cannot because they have had so many difficulties dealing with government departments and the holding costs of land have continued to increase. One developer who I was talking to only the other day has 300 lots that they could bring online. Last year they paid $80,000 in land tax. They have just got a bill for $180,000 this year, which is more than double. Why would anyone want to develop land in Victoria when they are slugged like that?

While we are on taxes and charges, land tax is the big killer. It is a total cash grab. I had a lady that came into my office and told me that her garden was taxed because it was on a separate title. I asked her to please, please, please go off to the State Revenue Office and explain that this is clearly wrong. I just worry that that might be the one case that I have been able to detect. We have hopefully helped her to not fall through the cracks. How many others are in similar situations that just have not had the time, the energy or the know-how to work through the system to make sure that they do not fall through the cracks as well and end up being slugged? This lady was slugged nearly $1000 just for her garden. How many others would have suffered?

I have also had other constituents in my office literally crying because they cannot afford to pay their land tax. It is all because you guys cannot manage money, and we are paying the price for it. WorkCover premiums have increased dramatically – there are reports that it has been between 40 and 60 per cent. One of my local businesses in Ballarat, a glass manufacturing firm that employed 14 people, has closed down because WorkCover premiums have gone up. That is just not sustainable, and clearly jobs are going because of it. This is a very honest, hardworking business that has been around since the 1960s in Ballarat – gone. Apparently this is the party of the worker that supports workers. Well, no, it does not; it actually gets them out of a job.

The Property Investors Council of Australia have put up some statistics as well. They have completed a very good report about where investors are going in Victoria. They are not staying; they are heading away from Victoria. They are going to Queensland and WA. They are not staying around here at all because they know it is very, very difficult to run a business or hold property, and that is an absolute shame. Of all places, they are even going to Adelaide. Adelaide is more of a preference than Victoria. Surely that is a cause for shame.

When I look in the budget and I think about roads, roads is probably one of the biggest issues that impacts my constituents. To see the roads maintenance budget for country roads slashed to just $32 million is pretty scary. I have driven along the Western Highway many times, and the Western Highway was one of the major roads that was cited in the recent RACV report which listed a whole heap of different roads across regional Victoria. A number of other roads include the Princes Highway as well as the road from Balliang to Lara. I do not know why we spent $200 billion on a project in Melbourne when we cannot even get basic safety concerns addressed on country roads. Potholes galore – it is like an obstacle course trying to navigate country roads sometimes. We even had in the past the Treasurer label it ‘Liberal Party propaganda’, which is just completely false. If anyone here has driven on a country road, you would know that they are quite treacherous, particularly between Trawalla and Beaufort, which was named in the recent RACV report. Major roads and arterial roads are just continually neglected, and we are certainly paying the price for that.

We have also heard hospitals are going to have their departmental budgets cut. I know that there are a number of different health services in my area that are concerned about these alleged cuts. Beaufort and Skipton Health Service, East Grampians Health Service – which is in Ararat – and Maryborough District Health Service are just some that are very concerned about what might be coming. We have seen it very well reported in the media about these savage cuts to hospital beds that are going to happen because of a lack of resources.

Education – you know, we always hear from this opposite about education and how they are building new schools. They do not talk about the ones they already have on their books, though. My old primary school in Beaufort has been on the books of the Department of Education for a number of years. It has been vacated and it was consolidated with the Beaufort high school, but the site has still remained in the hands of the Department of Education and has been sitting there vacant for a number of years. It has been vandalised, it has got graffiti everywhere and the building is in a state of disrepair, sadly. For me, when I look at that school I have very fond memories of that place. It is number 60 in the state, so it is one of the very early schools, yet the heritage-listed building and a number of the outbuildings have been let go to rack and ruin, which is just such a shame. For all the talk of these new schools that are being brought online, the ones that are currently on the Department of Education books do not get maintained at all. $800,000 was committed as part of the state budget in recent times to make sure that the works were done at the school to do a master plan and to get early works at least started. I visited the school the other day and I can tell you nothing is happening at all. You have to ask why.

I have also got to talk about this school saving bonus of $400. This has been touted as cost-of-living relief, but it is not cost-of-living relief for everyone. You only get this bonus if you go to a public school or you are in an independent or Catholic school and you are eligible for a healthcare card. That is not fair. There are a number of Catholic schools that do not get access to this – a lot of students in Catholic schools do not. The Catholic education diocese in my area of Ballarat did a study on this, and they found that schools in the suburb of Canterbury, which is a well-established, high-income suburb, do get 100 per cent benefit at Canterbury Primary School, but at St Francis Xavier in Melton, which has average house prices half that of Canterbury and average income of less than the average wage, 23 per cent of students are eligible. The rest get nothing, nothing at all. Cost of living does not see what school you go to, cost of living does not see religion, but the government is very happy to discriminate on those terms against the people that need this help the most. So much for caring for the battler and the worker.

Public transport – the Ballarat railway station is a classic case. $51 million – it was up from last year’s budget; an extra million dollars for the Ballarat railway station – and it has been sitting there. The draft designs that are out for the station are just awful. They do not fit in with the heritage precinct of beautiful Lydiard Street and the heritage landscape that typifies central Ballarat. I do not know anyone that fights disability access to railway stations. I am in full support of that, and I am very happy to put that on record. What I am against is a solution which is not in keeping with the heritage surroundings that the beautiful Ballarat railway station is in. It is over 160 years old, this station. It should be protected and enhanced, but the draft designs that the government put out do not enhance it. They are Lego-like designs that may well fit into Fitzroy, they may well fit into other parts of Melbourne, but they do not fit into Ballarat, and I really do encourage the government to reconsider the options that they put forward.

It might also be a good time to sit around and have a think about how we could restore the heritage gates to proper full function as well, as they had been for so many years, but I do not think those calls have been heeded. Save Our Station, or SOS Ballarat, have been campaigning on this for a significant period of time. There is physically no reason why the heritage gates cannot be restored, because as I said, they have been safely operating for a number of years. It would be good for the government to explore this a bit further, maybe eat some humble pie and consider a way that we can enhance the heritage precinct around Ballarat station instead of diminishing it and taking away from it and destroying it.

I hope the government considers making a few changes to this budget. It is digging a deep black hole of debt with more deficits coming on the horizon. It is future Victorians, the young people of today, who are going to be the taxpayers of tomorrow, and they are the ones that are going to have to pay the price for this. We are all paying for it now, and it will be not just the next generation but the one after that and the one after that and the one after that. I do not know how we are going to get this debt lower, but jeez, we have got to start trying, and I would really encourage the state to start trying as well because we need to pay it back.

Sheena WATT (Northern Metropolitan) (15:30): I rise to speak on the motion, which lays out the Allan Labor government’s 2024–25 budget, which is all about helping families and easing cost-of-living pressures. We know that in Victoria and beyond, inflation is increasing the prices of food, bills, appliances and services. That is why our state budget places emphasis on supporting families who are juggling the many costs of living.

For parents and guardians the many costs associated with raising children – school-related costs especially – can accumulate, with uniforms, camps, excursions and sports expenses adding up. We are helping to ease this cost-of-living pressure by providing a $400 school saving bonus for every student enrolled in a government school and eligible families at non-government schools. You know what, parents and guardians should not carry the burden of their child missing out on school activities. That is why this $400 school saving bonus will truly be game changing. We are also tripling our free Glasses for Kids program and providing more vouchers to cover the costs of kids sport to ensure that students get the most out of school and feel supported in exploring their passions. We want every kid to feel encouraged to involve themselves in school activities, and we want every family supported to do so.

Schools are the place where young kids become young adults, and it is crucial they are in an effective learning environment. We are continuing to upgrade school buildings and classrooms all across Victoria. It was wonderful to visit Carlton North Primary School and deliver the great news to Principal Corben that $8.4 million will be invested in upgrading and modernising the school. Within the Northern Metropolitan Region I am very delighted to let you know that Brunswick North Primary School, Kensington Primary School, Fitzroy Primary School, St Michael’s Primary School and Thornbury Primary School are also being supported with upgrades – and they are just some of the schools closest to us. You see, Principal Corben told me herself how much this funding means to Carlton North, and I am excited to see the new purpose-built school space and the refurbishment of their 150-year-old school building, which will be facilitated by this funding. Students are the leaders of tomorrow, and that is why the Allan Labor government is getting on with it and improving learning conditions. The Victorian Labor government is ensuring all families have access to a great local school. The funding to Carlton North for upgrades is part of the $753 million investment in maintaining and upgrading schools right across Victoria.

Coming to broader statewide matters, can I say we have promised to build 100 new schools by 2026. We have already opened 75, and that number has probably gone up since I wrote this speech the first time. In fact secondary and specialist schools have opened up at the locations where they are needed most, and primary schools – well, we need them just about everywhere. An additional six schools are currently in the construction process, with another three in planning and design. The 2024–25 budget has invested an additional $1 billion to build the remaining 16 new schools and deliver on our promise to Victoria families. This funding will also cover planned additional stages at two recently opened schools – there you go.

Alongside this we know that more needs to be done to prevent family violence and support the safety of women. That is why in the budget the Allan Labor government is investing $269 million in preventing family violence. This funding will facilitate crucial work in supporting women’s safety across our state.

On another matter of safety, can I talk about road safety. The 2024–25 budget is taking considerable measures to prioritise safety on Victorian roads. I was very proud to see in my neighbourhood on budget day, and I was happy to announce via social media and some Fun Time video clips, that Nicholson Street in Coburg is getting a safety upgrade. This is $1.27 million in upgrade funding to go towards improving this stretch of road. What my constituents tell me time and time again is that people go too fast too often, placing all road users at risk.

The Allan Labor government is listening and this funding, the $1.27 million, as I said, will prioritise safety initiatives, including the implementation of electronic variable speed limit signs, some electronic travel speed warning signs, some dragon-teeth markings and some yellow road surfacing at the pedestrian crossing. Can I thank the Pedestrian Safety for Nicholson Street Coburg group, who have shared their concerns for pedestrian safety with me and with the member for Pascoe Vale in the other place Anthony Cianflone. I know that he was particularly delighted to see this funding announcement on budget day. Can I just say that it is our shared mission to support our community to make Nicholson Street safer for all road users. The funding for Nicholson Street is part of the metropolitan roads upgrade program, which is distributing $16.5 million for Victorian roads, and that is going to improve the network efficiency, the road safety, the freight capacity and of course, crucially, travel times.

Another critical aspect of safety for our healthcare system here in Victoria, which continues to be of the utmost importance, is of course our public health system. With the 2024–25 budget we invested a record $13 billion so that all Victorians can access care in a timely and accessible way. Every Victorian should be supported and given the health care they need when they need it, and when times are tough we fall back on healthcare workers who provide such life-saving treatments to give us world-class care. Our hospitals also need world-class facilities, and the budget is delivering $1.7 billion to build and upgrade hospitals and health facilities across the state.

One that pleased me a great lot, I must confess, is funding to improve the Northern Hospital, located in Epping. As it is one of the busiest hospitals in the state, this funding will be well utilised to start construction on the new emergency department and the dedicated paediatric zone – how exciting is that. There is also a mental health, alcohol and other drugs hub and additional inpatient beds. We are ensuring better health care for all Victorians, with $2.1 million allocated to delivering access to trans and gender-diverse health services and operating two multidisciplinary gender-affirming-care clinics, in Ballarat and Preston, supporting LGBTIQA+ Victorians.

This budget – you have heard me speak about it earlier this week, and I will say it again – is further facilitating our work as we walk on the path to treaty here in Victoria, leading us to a fairer future. We are pressing ahead with treaty, walking with First Nations people in Victoria. Alongside the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, we established Australia’s first formal truth-telling process, the Yoorrook Justice Commission, in 2021. We are building on our existing commitment of $1.9 billion towards reconciliation in our state, and the budget just passed invests $273 million in First Peoples’ self-determination, including $6.8 million to support the extension of the Yoorrook Justice Commission in their work – and with that I mean the formal truth-telling processes with Aboriginal Victorians and the government and also our broader Victorian community. Ministers in the Allan Labor government and even the Premier herself have so far fronted up to the Yoorrook Justice Commission to speak truth on our history here in Victoria, and indeed I was really happy to see that. I know, though, that there is still very much a long way to go. Victoria is on a path to action for closing the gap as well between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Victorians, and I am really proud that the funding supports this critical journey to reconciliation.

I am going to carve out a moment, actually, to talk about climate action and how Victoria is leading the way in cutting carbon emissions. As the Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Action, I am really proud of some recent investments in the energy transition. As you are well aware, we have brought back the SEC to provide to Victorians reliable and affordable government-owned energy. The first investment from the SEC’s initial $1 billion will support the build of one of the world’s largest battery projects. That will drive down energy prices, and that is very good news indeed.

The other thing is that a little further from our shores will be some offshore wind, and that will play a significant role in our renewable energy future. The budget invests $18 million to plan for offshore wind generation projects and $17 million to ensure the planning and design of a renewable energy terminal at the Port of Hastings. For further renewable energy projects we are investing $10 million to improve some spatial risk mapping and guidance to save investors time and money and give them some assurances that Victoria is a place to invest. This is accompanied by a further $47.3 million to ensure that environmental assessments really are finished in a timely manner, further driving investor confidence in renewable energy here in Victoria.

As we press ahead in the transition towards renewable energy, we know that some members have expressed a real interest in energy more broadly and will know that an additional $12 million has been committed to fund VicGrid to coordinate the planning and development of the state’s transmission infrastructure. Whilst I am excited to see offshore wind and I am excited to see so much new renewable power come online here in Victoria – because this really is the renewable powerhouse of our nation – I do know that we need that renewable power to be stored in those giant batteries that are coming online and we also need that power to be moved across the state to where Victorians need it. That will happen now with VicGrid. You will recall in a sitting not too long ago we actually had quite a strong piece of legislation come before us regarding the rollout of the new VicGrid organisation, so congratulations to all of those people that were involved in that one.

While I am here talking about renewable energy I have got more to talk about. I want to highlight the $38 million that has been invested to continue the enormous success of Solar Victoria, which is facilitating an additional 35,000 energy-efficient hot-water rebates. I know that when folks have a hot-water system that has seen better days and has got no more days ahead they are looking for energy-efficient solutions. There is support that can come to Victorians care of our Victorian energy upgrades. Can I just highlight how much that will be supported by members of our government, as we invested $38 million in the continued success of Solar Victoria. There is an investment that not only helps you have a warm shower but also helps drive down the cost of living and energy bills. By switching to a heat pump or even a solar hot-water system, just to give you some sense of the savings you will be looking at, the average Victorian household will save up to $400 a year on their electricity bills just from that one unit. I know that you will be pretty keen and interested to explore that, as I was.

While I like talking in this chamber about all these exciting initiatives, what gives me the greatest joy is going out and speaking to the Victorian community. I must say I had the great joy not too long ago of heading out with the Minister for Climate Action, Lily D’Ambrosio from the other place, to cook together on electric induction cooking. Whilst some folks might run a scare campaign about induction cooking, I have got to tell you there are chefs of some very elite restaurants right here in Melbourne that are loving induction cooking. It is being taken up with such gusto, and now members of our community are getting on board with it as well. So despite my cooking being not the best at that fancy cooking school, it was a great opportunity. I could go on and on and on talking about our budget, but I know that there are more speakers and I am happy to leave it to them.

Trung LUU (Western Metropolitan) (15:45): I rise today to speak on the motion on the budget put forward by the Labor government. As we know, budget papers are very important in forecasting, planning and delivering Victorians’ future. Victorian lives are getting harder by the day. Victorians are paying more for goods and services and getting less as the cost of living rises, and we all have endured and experienced hardship in recent months. I would like to speak on parts of this budget that will affect my constituents in Western Metropolitan Region.

The recent budget shows us that this Labor government cannot manage money. With recent revelations concerning the corruption, kickbacks, standover intimidation and worksite bullying allegations within the construction branch of the CFMEU, the community now sees a clearer picture as to why all the state’s major infrastructure projects have been delayed in delivery with cost blowouts in the billions of dollars under Premier Allan’s responsibility. Victoria has the largest debt of all states in Australia, surpassing the debts of New South Wales, Tasmania and Queensland combined. When debt is out of control, projects and services that Victorians rely on face the axe.

In the Western Metropolitan Region, my electorate, the election promise of electrification of the Melton and Wyndham Vale railway lines was scrapped, despite it being a commitment of this current Labor government during the 2018 and 2022 election campaigns. Initially deemed viable by Premier Allan, who was at the time the Minister for Transport Infrastructure, these projects have now been cancelled in favour of the Suburban Rail Loop in the eastern suburbs. This has left my community questioning the benefits for the west and the value for money for Victorians in this budget, with all the successive cancellations of major infrastructure projects, including the shelving of the Melbourne Airport rail link.

Suburbs in my electorate, such as Tarneit, Wyndham Vale and Truganina, are eagerly awaiting vital improvements to public transportation systems to support the area’s rapidly increasing population. However, the west continues to struggle and endure Melbourne’s most congested, dangerous roads, with narrow carriageways, potholes and poor surface conditions. The shelving of projects and the abandoned railway upgrade have forced many of my constituents’ families to rely on overburdened and poorly maintained local roads. Brimbank City Council has recently communicated with the Minister for Roads and Road Safety its inability to shoulder most of the cost of maintaining arterial roads. This budget’s cuts to roads and rail are making life harder for services and families across the state, especially those in my electorate in the west.

The Allan Labor government has cancelled rail and major infrastructure projects and paused the upgrades of Ballan Road in Werribee and the Point Cook Road–Central Avenue intersection in Altona Meadows. At the same time Premier Allan has continued to sign contracts and pumped $212 billion into the Suburban Rail Loop. This dreadful budget’s cuts to road funding will see road asset management funding reduced by $19 million, a 2.7 per cent decrease from the 2023–24 budget.

Anyone who has driven across the West Gate Bridge would have experienced the gridlock, slow-down zones and dangerous intersections that are all too common. Infrastructure in the west has taken a back seat once again in Premier Allan’s recent budget. The Melbourne Airport rail link and the Western Rail Plan, both deemed critical infrastructure to meet the demands of a growing population and for connectivity of Victoria’s west, have been put on hold. Not only did Premier Allan’s Labor government cut funding to roads, they also cut funding to public transport. Tram services experienced a substantial cut of $52.1 million, marking a drop of 10.5 per cent – not that there are many tram services in the west, for a start. There is not even one tramline connecting the city to the west. The only tram available is the number 82, which runs from Footscray to Moonee Ponds, approximately 6 kilometres from the CBD. That is what kind of service we are getting out in the west under this Labor government.

Unfortunately, Premier Allan has consistently prioritised the eastern suburbs over the west. This government prefers to spend $212 billion on existing train lines for the east rather than developing new lines and upgrading overcrowded stations in the west to cater for the growing population. Instead of rail improvements, enhancing bus services in the west, extending tramline networks and repairing old roads, the Premier has a greater preference for high-profile projects that have no costings and no plan and are steered by corrupt CFMEU leadership, costing Victorian taxpayers billions of dollars.

The budget shows Premier Allan and the Labor government cannot manage money. They have no control over the costs of major construction projects that are strongly influenced by the CFMEU leadership over the cost, delivery timeline and who can get to work on the worksite. The proof is in the pudding, and we, the Victorian taxpayers, are paying the costs. The Melbourne Metro railway tunnel project suffered a $2.7 billion budget blowout, pushing it close to $13 billion, a 26 per cent budget overrun.

The Victorian Homebuyer Fund, a very important program in a developing region like the west, in my electorate, worth $2.8 billion, has been scrapped by this Allan Labor government. Premier Allan scrapped this scheme, making the dream of home ownership harder for young Victorians. Not only is the Premier making it harder for young people to buy a home, she is also cutting vital infrastructure projects. The $10 billion airport rail link project has been shelved for four years, even after Melbourne Airport agreed to the location of the railway station, leaving its future uncertain. Every Labor government since Steve Bracks in 1999 has promised to deliver this project, and if I may note, every Labor government has failed. This is another Labor budget that has failed to deliver for the western suburbs.

Infrastructure is not the only major service to be cut in this budget. The budget also had a significant impact on various health services. Public health has seen the most substantial reduction, with $207 million cut, marking a 33.8 per cent decrease in funding and cutting both research in the lab and frontline services. This comes at a time when the Allan government is cutting 75 per cent of funding to the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre. The home and community care program for young people has also been cut by $41 million, a 20.9 per cent decrease. This output includes a range of services involving community-based nursing, allied health and support resources that allow young people to maintain independence and participate in the community. Labor is hiding its financial mismanagement, and in doing so it is putting the lives of thousands of infants at risk.

Dental services have also been slashed, by $36 million, a 14.9 per cent reduction. Victorian dentists are concerned that people are delaying their routine care and, in the worst-case scenario, are forgoing dental care altogether. This often leads to dental care centres being overcome with an influx of emergency patients, because patients are delaying preventative and urgent treatment. With Labor at the helm, dental care seems to be a luxury rather than an essential need.

Young families with children are also worse off under this Labor budget. An area that is of great concern to my constituents is schooling. In one of the most disadvantaged and fastest growing metropolitan regions in the state, good schools provide a ticket out of poverty for thousands of kids in my electorate. Premier Allan has scrapped a $24.6 million Melton South Primary School upgrade. Manorvale Primary School in Werribee is also left out in this budget. Families in the west are facing higher costs without receiving adequate services in return. Victorians are especially burdened by the state’s debt, leading to the highest taxes in the country for the local taxpayer. An average Victorian pays $5073 in tax, more than what residents pay in other states. To give you an example, the amount is 74 per cent higher than Tasmania – we pay $2173 more; 70 per cent higher than South Australia – we pay $2103 more; and even Queensland – Victorians pay 23 per cent more, amounting to an extra $1426. Victorians not only face higher taxes but also carry the largest debt among all states. This raises concern about economic management under Premier Allan’s Labor government, which now seeks additional funds from taxpayers.

To wrap up, I wanted to say it is time Premier Allan and the Labor government focus on taking care of all Victorians and making sure all parts of Victoria get the attention and the resources they need. Rather than focusing on the east, they need to focus on all Victorians. In this budget the Western Metropolitan Region and the western suburbs, which are in my electorate and are the constituents that I represent, have not been given what they need and what they deserve. It is time for change. A Liberal–‍Nationals government will deliver that change.

Tom McINTOSH (Eastern Victoria) (15:57): It is a delight to stand up and talk to this budget take-note motion. There were so many incredible things to come out of the budget for the electorate that I am fortunate to represent in Eastern Victoria. It was really a big time, budget day. We got to get out with community and celebrate some amazing things.

We started off at the Paynesville Bowling Club, where we were so fortunate to be able to announce to the local members $330,000 for a new synthetic green. For the club it is really, really big. The club there own their own land and look after it well, but there are costs of maintaining the green. The time when there are lots of tourists in town, during the middle of summer, is often when they have to do maintenance, whilst there are not bowling comps. This synthetic green means that those maintenance costs can be put back into the club. It means that over the summer, instead of those prolonged periods of maintenance, they are able to get tourists in to come and play barefoot bowls, come and get active, play bowls, spend time with other people and buy some food or drink from the club, which helps generate more money, more income, for the club. All in all this investment by the state government, which has been incredibly well received by people at the club and around town, is going to be an incredible asset not only for the members of the club but also for tourists and others in town who want to play barefoot or social bowls and for the school, because the club has been fantastic in connecting in with the youth at the school and teaching them bowls and getting them into regional and state comps. They are already seeing some really talented young bowlers come out of the town through the club.

Talking of the school, it was just sensational to be able to go to the school with the principal, with teachers and with students and celebrate the $4 million-plus that has been announced for the school. They had funds for planning work, and now this money means they can get on and deliver upgrades to the school for a town that we know is growing, a town where there is the demand for more families, more kids and for education. It was just so good to be able to celebrate that with families at Paynesville. We know that with the upgrades at AJ Freeman Reserve the female-friendly change rooms will enable the footballers and the netballers to fully participate in sport in a safe and efficient manner. If you look at the female toilets that were below the netball courts beforehand, it was a little brick box that just was not fit for purpose. Now we have a beautiful building as long as this chamber alongside the netball courts, with good access to the footy oval, that is going to be a real asset for the town for a long time to come, as have been the upgrades to the cricket nets. I was fortunate enough to be able to join with the community to celebrate there as well. To be able to get a community, particularly a regional community like Paynesville, to come together and celebrate is a really important thing, as it is to have the other pieces like the investment we have made with the RSL, the investment in the new ambulance station and the investments down by the waterfront. It is really important for a growing town that we are able to make those supports.

I was next able to join locals up near Sale on the alternative truck route. The state government has committed $10.89 million to ensure that we have better freight routes for trucks to use. We are taking what has been a complicated intersection and improving that to make it safer and better for locals and freight haulage to use as well. Then I was able to celebrate with the Fish Creek community at the football and netball clubs. After the tragic circumstances where their rooms burnt down last year, to be able to join the club and tell them that there was half a million dollars for them in the budget was a special thing and important to the club in being able to get on with their rebuild.

After Fish Creek I was able to join all the kids playing soccer at the Korumburra rec reserve. It was fantastic to be able to let them know that there was money for a synthetic pitch on the old disused netball courts before the footy and netball club moved down to the ag society oval. It will mean that the cricket club can use it and the soccer or football teams can use it. It just gives that all-year-round multipurpose synthetic pitch for another really active growing club with huge participation rates. From memory, there are something like 160 people playing soccer there up at the rec reserve and of course many more playing cricket, so it is a really, really active spot. That is alongside other investments, with the footy clubroom upgrades that are going on and the netball club upgrades. That building is basically complete thanks to the $800,000 invested in that. It is alongside the $5 million for the new community hub, not to mention the $13 million that we had for the high school. I was fortunate enough to have Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Ben Carroll join me and the community to cut the ribbon to officially open the school there, which is a fantastic thing.

While I was there I bumped into members from the RSL. I was actually fortunate enough to have the Minister for Veterans Natalie Suleyman join me to celebrate the works that occurred at the RSL thanks to the support of the state government for their roofing and weatherboarding. Their space, their place which they have opened their doors up to the community, has been a real place of community. We were able to celebrate that. It is a really important thing around town. Of course with the kindergarten at the back of the primary school we are avoiding the dreaded double drop-off. People around town have said how much it means to have that new 66-place kinder up there onsite next to the primary school, which is doing such incredible work. There are other investments like the men’s shed upgrade, using the old locomotive shed and getting it into use. The investment there, I think it was about $80,000, has seen the members of the men’s shed being able to move out of the old goods shed. They are doing incredible things. That will be a space that they open up to the community upon completion, which is just sensational.

The next morning I was able to get across to Eastbourne Primary. I think it was about $8 million for Eastbourne, a really, really important sum of money for the school there. For them to be able to get on with their plans and build top-notch, upgraded, new classrooms is sensational. Just from walking around with their previous principal, who had been there for I think close to 15 years, and their new principal, they are just doing such incredible work not only with the kids and the students but the families and the community more broadly. Then I was able to catch up with Paul Mercurio on the peninsula, which was great, to celebrate the cross-peninsula bus – and we had minister Gab Williams join us – putting in that missing connection between Mornington and Hastings. To be able to see that infrastructure to get people across the peninsula is really important. I know it is something that has been important to member for Hastings Paul Mercurio. I congratulate him on his work and his advocacy, which has seen that go ahead. It has been really important.

This just builds on the investments that the state has made across Eastern Victoria. Minister Shing is here. There is so much in her area, close to her office. There is Latrobe Regional Health, the investments and the staging of works that continue to build on the capacity of the hospital, and Wonthaggi Hospital. Frankston Hospital, a billion-dollar hospital only minutes from the seat of Mornington, is an incredible asset for the community of Eastern Victoria. In Mornington we have had $2.9 million for the upgrade of Alexandra Park. That facility is about to come on line. It is incredible. There are lighting upgrades at Emil Madsen Reserve and $300,000 for the Mount Martha tennis courts in conjunction with the Mornington shire council, an incredible facility with four courts looking out over the bay. We have had a basic rebuild, new fencing, new lights and new carded gates so members and the community can book the courts and come in and use them in a stunning place. That is something that has set that club up for generations to come.

I also joined Paul Mercurio at the Mornington Racecourse for the announcement of the $478,000 they have to make upgrades to the racetrack. The Mornington Special Developmental School also have $6.769 million. We have massive upgrades for Mt Eliza North in the planning. I am looking forward to those works, when they are able to commence. From an infrastructure perspective we have the Mornington Fishermans Jetty, the Rye Pier and the Dromana Pier; these investments we have made have been so beneficial not only for locals but for tourists, enabling people from a recreation perspective. Whether it is fishing, whether it is getting out walking or whether it is using boats, these investments are just so crucial to keeping people active, keeping people connected. The $2 million in funding for Red Hill Recreation Reserve, up there with the club, has been important for them as an expanding club with growing membership.

Principal Lisa at Rosebud Secondary College showed me the sensational work that has happened at Rosebud. I might mention that former member Chris Brayne put a lot of work and effort into advocacy to support the school and support the town, and that has been an incredible, incredible lift, those new buildings for the school. Dromana Primary School is another investment that was advocated for by Chris Brayne, the $9.783 million. Again, hats off to everyone at the school and in the community who worked with Chris Brayne to secure that funding to be able to get on with those works.

At Rye Primary School we were able to secure funds for the playground. It was great to be able to drop in and talk with the principal Lachie Featherston and talk to kids, but the current playground is over 30 years old. To be able to upgrade that is fantastic for the kids and the school. As those kids get older there is $4.3 million for the multipurpose southern peninsula integrated youth services hub across the way from the shire building. The shire have done a power of work on this. It is critical in supporting our youth on the peninsula, and for it to be centrally located, where it is, is really important from a geographic perspective on the peninsula.

Other investments to reflect on include the upgrades to the Foster indoor stadium for the Foster show this year. It is such a great asset to the town for the show to be able to use that facility, not to mention the works that happened under the ground. They were finished this year. The horses were able to get out and about with $150,000 of new irrigation and drainage. It was great to see everyone able to be back on the footy oval, on the grass, throwing things, riding things – all the sorts of things that were going on. I have run out of time. There is so much more to talk about, but I will have to leave it there.

Lee TARLAMIS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (16:12): I rise to speak on the budget take-note motion and in particular the many benefits to the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region that I represent. This is the first budget for the Allan Labor government. It extends and builds on the work of the Andrews Labor government and its nine budgets. It continues the focus on core issues that matter to Victorians including education from the early years through primary and secondary schooling years to TAFE and lifelong learning, world-class healthcare services, continually improving our transport network to make it better and safer, building stronger and fairer communities, creating jobs for Victorians and easing the cost-of-living pressures for families.

We continue to demonstrate our commitment to Victoria as the Education State with a range of investments in this budget. We have already opened 75 new primary schools and specialist schools, with a further nine in construction or planning or design stage, and we are well on the way to the 100 we promised by 2026. In growing areas of our state such as the south-eastern suburbs this focus is of particular importance and shows we are not only conscious of the current needs but preparing for the future needs of our community. This budget includes a $948 million investment in the remaining 16 schools, which include in my electorate Clyde Creek North Primary School, Clyde Creek North Secondary College and Casey Central Primary School, all located in South-Eastern Metropolitan Region, as well as the new Ballarto Road primary school just outside of my region in the Bass electorate.

We also investing $226.7 million to continue our program of upgrading and modernising schools across Victoria, fulfilling our election promise from 2022. This includes projects which shared in funds last year to plan and prepare for these upgrades and now in this 2024–25 budget we are funding construction work to get the job done. Six of these are in my region: James Cook Primary School in Endeavour Hills will receive $9.1 million; Lyndhurst Secondary College will receive $13.6 million for upgrades including of blocks A and E; $6 million will enable Mulgrave Primary School to undertake the next stage of their upgrades, which includes refurbishing the school’s old, small hall to convert it into a new library; $12.45 million will rebuild the main classroom at Clayton South Primary School and construct a new playground; Seaford Primary School be able to move on to the next stage of their master plan thanks to an $18.2 million investment; and $9 million will upgrade and modernise Cranbourne Scondary College. We build these new schools and we make these investments to existing schools because families should be able to count on having a great local school no matter where they live.

Our commitment to early childhood education has been clearly demonstrated previously, because we know how important the early years are for a child’s development. We have already invested $6.2 billion to transform early childhood education and care, rolling out universal three-year-old kinder and delivering free kinder for all families with three- and four-year-olds. We have continued this in this budget, with an additional $129 million to deliver free kinder and continue the rollout of three-year-old kinder and $19 million for more grants to kinders so that they can refurbish and renovate their premises.

We have also recently announced eight new locations for 2026 through our kindergartens on school sites program, which adds to the 13 already announced that will be open in term 1 of 2026. This includes Lysterfield Primary School, which I had the pleasure of visiting recently with Minister Blandthorn and my colleague in the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region Michael Galea. It also includes new schools that I mentioned earlier, Casey central primary school in my electorate and Ballarto Road primary school in the Bass electorate, which will have kinders on their sites when they open as well. Locating kinders on or close to school sites supports children to get the most out of their early learning, makes drop-off more convenient for busy parents and carers and helps with a smoother transition to primary school.

We have continued to deliver with regard to community hubs as well. We are providing funding to support the important work of the community hubs located in 41 primary schools across Victoria. These community hubs are places where families from diverse backgrounds, particularly mothers and preschool children, come together, share and learn. They help bridge the gap between families and the wider community, connecting families with each other and their school with the local services and supports. We have 10 of these community hubs in schools across Greater Dandenong and the City of Casey in the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region that I represent.

We are also continuing our commitment to free TAFE, which has already helped more than 170,000 Victorians get the skills they need for the jobs they want. $394 million in this budget will further boost access to vocational training and free TAFE, saving even more Victorians tuition fees and helping us to build the workforce we need. The budget also invests $31.6 million for the Skills First Skill Sets initiative, delivering subsidised training for the skills needed in industries facing skills shortages and enabling Victorians to complete accredited short courses and quickly upskill in growth sectors like transport, new energy, disability and construction.

The budget’s investment in health infrastructure, totalling $1.7 billion across the state, includes the promised expansion of the Monash Medical Centre, which serves my region. $535 million will deliver a new seven-storey tower above the newly expanded emergency department, with operating suites, birthing suites and pre- and post-op beds. This upgrade will allow for an extra 7500 surgeries every year and create 1500 local jobs during construction. This builds on previous investments and upgrades that service my region, which have included the expansion of the Monash Medical Centre emergency department, the new Victorian Heart Hospital, the Casey Hospital expansion, the Frankston Hospital redevelopment and the Cranbourne community hospital currently underway, to name just a few of the major projects. We are also boosting hospital capacity across the state, including at Monash Medical Centre, and giving hospitals funding certainty with the single biggest multiyear investment in our healthcare system in Victorian history.

With the opening of the Metro Tunnel in 2025 approaching quickly, we are getting ready for day one of operation and funding $233 million for the recruitment and training of drivers and customer service teams and preparing customer information, timetables and final testing. The Metro Tunnel will transform our train network and is particularly significant for commuters on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines, which serve large parts of my electorate. Along with the Sunbury line, the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines will connect directly to the new tunnel. It is also a massive boost for all train commuters across the region and across the entire metro area, and it will create more capacity in the city loop and allow more trains to run on our network.

In addition to the many major projects that we have underway, we continue to invest in local roads and bus services. The section of Stud Road near McFees Road and the Dandenong Stadium in Dandenong North is a notorious section of road that has been the site of some tragic events. I am very pleased that following strong local advocacy, including from the member for Dandenong in the other place and the mayor Cr Lana Formoso from the City of Greater Dandenong Council, we saw the speed limit here lowered to 60 kilometres per hour, and funding in this budget will see the intersection of Stud Road and McFees Road signalised. This will make crossing Stud Road and accessing the Dandenong sports stadium, bus stops and the Dandenong Creek parkland trails much safer and easier.

Our bus networks, a key part of our transport system, will also receive several key boosts as a result of this budget. Services on the popular route 800 Dandenong to Chadstone bus will be extended to Sundays and into evenings, and funding for improvements to routes 784 and 785 will also enable them to operate more efficiently and improve travel times to both Frankston station and Mornington town centre. There will be further progress on the new cross-peninsula route from Hastings to Mornington, with funding to deliver bus stop infrastructure along the route following community consultation later this year to identify the appropriate location for these stops. These investments complement the recent growth areas infrastructure contribution funding for extended bus services on route 831 in Casey and the extension of route 798 to Clyde North.

There is also a continued commitment to grassroots sport in this budget, with new and upgraded community sports facilities funded across Victoria, including more change rooms, courts, sports fields, pavilions and skate parks. $23 million will provide new and improved community sports infrastructure and initiatives to boost participation and inclusion in local sports clubs, including $350,000 towards upgrades of playing greens and clubroom facilities at the Mordialloc Bowls Club. Also included in this investment is $5 million to continue the 2024–25 Local Sports Infrastructure Fund, providing more competitive grant opportunities for new and upgraded facilities. Because we know how important sport is for our youngest Victorians and how the cost of living can be challenging for families, we have also committed $6 million to extend our Get Active Kids program. These Get Active Kids vouchers, which give eligible families $200 to help buy sports equipment and uniforms or pay membership fees, support kids becoming and staying involved in sport and also ease pressures on families’ budgets.

While I am on the topic of cost of living there are several other measures in this budget which assist with these challenges that will benefit families in my region. Our one-off $400 schools saving bonus will help families with the cost of school essentials and the extracurricular activities that make school fun – things like uniforms, camps and excursions. This $400 bonus will help families with children at government schools and families at our non-government schools who need it most. It will make sure our kids have everything they need for the school day, and we will work with schools to make it available for the start of the 2025 school year.

We are tripling the size of our free Glasses for Kids program, which is already helping 34,000 students across Victoria to see clearly in the classroom. Free screenings and glasses for students who need them mean we can identify vision issues early and stop them holding young learners back. Now $6.8 million will expand the program to reach a further 74,000 prep to grade 3 students and 473 government schools across the state. The popular school breakfast clubs program, which provides free healthy breakfasts for students, is also being expanded to every government school across Victoria. Since 2016 our school breakfast clubs program has delivered more than 40 million healthy and nutritious meals as well as practical cooking classes for families at a hundred schools, building food literacy, increasing daily consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables and supporting cheap and healthy meal planning. We know that kids cannot learn on an empty stomach, so we are making sure that no student starts the day hungry and helping families with cost-of-living pressures at the same time.

We also remain committed to providing support to our diverse communities, in particular to working with our most recent and emerging communities. South-Eastern Metropolitan Region is a particularly diverse area and one with many strengths, something we can all celebrate. This budget delivers funding to continue and expand the Victorian African Communities Action Plan education initiatives. It includes continuing the 14 African Australian led homework clubs across Victoria, several of which are located my region, supporting Victoria’s African communities to have a strong sense of connection and belonging by providing a safe and culturally appropriate environment for students who require additional support.

Funding will also support up to 10 school liaison officers across 24 Victorian primary and secondary schools to strengthen engagement, participation and achievement of students and their families, again benefiting my region. It will also increase funding to our state’s community language schools by $11 million, with a further $3.9 million to meet demand for interpreting and translating services in our schools and early childhood facilities, and $6 million will assist our faith-based non-government schools with additional security upgrades to help communities feel safe, because there is no place in Victoria for discrimination, antisemitism or Islamophobia.

As you can see, this year’s budget continues to build on the many, many important initiatives and projects that we have been rolling out in our previous nine budgets. We continue to address the needs in the community and provide what the community needs to make it a better place, and we look forward to continuing this work. This is yet another budget that helps Victorian families, and I am proud to be part of a team that is delivering it.

Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (16:25): On behalf of Mr McGowan, I move:

That this item be now adjourned until later this day.

Motion agreed to and debate adjourned until later this day.