Treasurer Tim Pallas’s ninth budget took a major trim of 4000 public service jobs and slugged big businesses and people owning more than two homes as part of the state’s mission to cut back on its debt, brought on from big spending during the pandemic.
Funding for Shepparton, which hadn’t previously been announced, included $4 million for the Shepparton Lighthouse Project and a share of $19 million for place-based education plans, that will be split between Shepparton, Doveton and Frankston.
Likewise, the Victorian Government will build a new childcare centre in Shepparton, along with 49 other government-run early learning centres across the state, as well as in Numurkah, Seymour, and Rochester.
The Victorian Government did announce $2.8 billion across the state to fix flood-damaged roads over the next 10 years, and an extra $677 million was pledged for other flood recovery measures, including early intervention and psychological services.
Stage two of the Goulburn Valley Health redevelopment appeared dead in the water following Victorian Health Minister Mary-Ann Thomas’s visit to Shepparton in March where the minister opened what she called the “final” stage of the hospital’s redevelopment.
The state budget did nothing to allay those fears, with not a cent put towards upgrading the bricks and mortar facilities across Goulburn Valley Health, while $26 million previously promised for the cancer centre in past budgets was no longer listed in the budget papers.
The redevelopment was still listed under the state’s “high risk” existing projects, which were described as “projects identified as being high value or high risk and subject to more rigorous scrutiny”.
Likewise, the bypass also didn’t receive the funding it has been waiting years for, putting it firmly at risk of being cut by the Federal Government in its nationwide infrastructure review.
That review, announced ahead of this month’s federal budget, would be aiming to get ghost ship projects, which weren’t viable or didn’t have support from state governments, off the Federal Government’s books.
A sum of $1 million was promised for the planned Ford Rd intersection with the Goulburn Valley Hwy, which was funding promised last year.
The estimated completion date of the upgrade was revised to April-June 2024 following “delays to design finalisation”.
Funding for a PET scanner in Shepparton, which had been previously announced, was confirmed, as was a pilot of a drug court in Shepparton.
The government said more than $5 billion was invested into regional Victoria, covering cheaper V/Line fares, free kindergarten, and health funding.
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