Wednesday, 28 May 2025

Department of Treasury and Finance

Budget papers 2025–26

Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (17:23): I rise to speak on the 2025–26 state budget, particularly on budget paper 3, which is service delivery. The reason I rise to speak on this particular budget paper is because this budget paper actually raises some money for biosecurity. This was a budget that, of course, our Premier and our Treasurer billed as being focused on what matters most. But clearly regional Victoria, and particularly our horticulture industry, does not matter to Jacinta Allan or to Treasurer Jaclyn Symes, because in this budget they have cut a program that supports our horticultural industry – a program that the industry and local government made very clear that they needed $1 million in funding per annum for. That is the very highly successful fruit fly eradication program. On page 30 of BP3, the paper actually says that:

Funding is provided to safeguard Victoria’s agriculture sector from biosecurity threats including:

…

• supporting existing regional fruit fly governance groups in the Goulburn Murray Valley Sunraysia and the Yarra Valley.

The budget line item for this output initiative is on page 28, and it says that a total of $20 million is provided over two years, with $7.3 million in the 2025–26 year and $9.4 million in the 2026–27 year. It says that the funding envelope also covers biosecurity surveillance and diagnostic capability as well as responses to varroa mite and avian flu. But neither the line item nor the description specifies exactly how much is available for the fruit fly program. This is a program that local government have made clear and the industry have made clear that they needed $1 million for. But what Greater Shepparton City Council have been able to find out – and they told this to the Shepparton News – is that they have received confirmation that the amount for fruit fly in 2025–26 is only $320,000. No-one knows how much has been allocated in the 2026–27 year, and of course there is no funding in the forward estimates beyond that, so we do not know if the government will continue to fund it after 2027.

This uncertainty around this funding is deeply worrying for the horticultural industry in my constituency. The fruit fly management program has been incredibly successful in the Goulburn–‍Murray Valley region. It reduced fruit fly numbers by 95 per cent in its first year and 60 per cent in its second year. But since the government reduced the funding in 2020 fruit fly numbers have started to rise again, and the initial success is now at risk because the Allan Labor government is not adequately funding the program in this year’s budget and may just end it all, with funding not allocated beyond 2027.

Fruit fly expert and specialist Andrew Jessup has warned that if the program ends fruit fly numbers are expected to increase by 200 per cent in the best-case scenario and over 600 per cent in the worst-case scenario. Growers invest significantly in managing fruit fly risk on orchards, but the real threat is from backyard fruit trees that will go unmanaged and unmonitored. Horticulture in the Goulburn–‍Murray Valley region generates over $1.6 billion in gross regional product, and all the industry asked for was an ongoing commitment of $1 million annually. But the Allan Labor government has short-changed the fruit fly program and only allocated $320,000, and we do not know how much beyond that.

They appallingly also left it so late to confirm that there would be some funding for next year. Local government, who administer the project, have staff who are dependent on this funding. It is now just 22 days before the end of the financial year, and they know that there is $320,000 for next year, but who knows if there is anything moving forward? The level of funding places the good work of the project at risk, and we already know that fruit fly numbers have increased since the original funding was reduced in 2020. This allocation will ensure that the effectiveness of the program declines further and fruit fly numbers increase, so it is extremely short-sighted and certainly shows that this government do not care about the horticultural industry or regional Victoria.