2018-19 Victorian Budget
ANDREWS AND PALLAS SPEND BIG AHEAD OF THIS YEAR'S ELECTION
The Andrews Labor Government today handed down a big spending Victorian Budget 2018/19, targeting regional Victoria and Melbourne's growth areas - parts of the state where the election could be won or lost later this year.
Widely considered a safe pair of hands, Treasurer Tim Pallas has proven his aptitude again today with an estimated operating surplus of $1.4 billion in 2018/19, and surpluses averaging $2.5 billion over the forward estimates. Labor used today's Budget to trumpet its sound economic management and investment strategy since coming to office in 2014, which has seen Victoria's economy grow by more than 10 per cent. In that time, 333.900 jobs have been created - the largest increase in both percentage and absolute terms of any Australian state - with a further two per cent growth expected for 2018/19.
Billing it as a 'Labor Budget that gets things done', Pallas has flagged a record $13.7 billion infrastructure investment for schools, hospitals, roads and rail in 2018/19. Headline measures announced include:
TAFE: $172 million to provide free courses for 30,000 students in skills shortage areas, alongside $304 million for new classrooms and more than 30,000 additional places
Mental Health: A record $705 million for the overburdened sector, to fund more drug rehabilitation beds, support workers, facility upgrades and new crisis hubs
Schools: A record $1.2 billion education investment, which includes $353.2 million to build new schools in growth areas and $180.8 million to upgrade regional and rural schools
Hospitals: A focus on rural and regional Victoria, with $1.2 billion in hospital upgrades and equipment across the state - including $461.6 million to redevelop the Ballarat Base Hospital, $115 million to expand Wonthaggi Hospital and a $50 million boost to the Regional Health Infrastructure Fund
Cost of Living: $48 million for an energy bill busting bonus of $50 for every household that seeks out a better electricity deal
Roads: $2.2 billion for congested suburban roads and $941 million for roads across regional and rural roads
Small Business: Regional payroll tax will be cut to 2.425 per cent - half the metropolitan rate
A copy of the Treasurer's Budget Speech can be found here.
PORTFOLIO HIGHLIGHTS
Building on recent work to bring Victoria another step closer to an official treaty with its Aboriginal people, Labor will spend $116 million to support self-determination, celebrate culture and improve the lives of Aboriginal Victorians, $9 million to advance Treaty and establish the elected Aboriginal Representative Body, and $9 million to support Traditional Owners groups as they work towards formal recognition.
Communities across Victoria will be able to rely on safe and secure water supplies, with $65 million to provide new infrastructure and efficiency programs for farmers, households and businesses. That includes $32 million for the East Grampians Water Supply Project to build 1,600km of stock and domestic pipeline, and $10.2 million to secure water supply for the Mitiamo district.
The Andrews Labor Government has moved to build a stronger, safer and fairer justice system in Victoria, with a $257.4 million funding boost to recruit new judges and magistrates, better support victims of crime, implement counter-terrorism reforms and upgrade courts. In a major boost to court capacity, Victoria will get a new Supreme Court judge, two new County Court judges and 18 new magistrates.
Bolstering plans to keep Victoria safe, the state will get a new, 700 bed, maximum-security men’s prison at the Lara Prison Precinct with $689.5 million. The Victorian Budget 2018/19 also includes $91 million for extra beds and security upgrades at existing facilities across the prison system and $145 million for more staff and upgrades at Parkville and Malmsbury Youth Justice Centres.
Living up to its reputation as the creative state, Victoria's arts industries will benefit from a $78.7 million funding boost, including $31.6 million to redevelop ACMI, $34.8 million to maintain collections at Museums Victoria, the Geelong Performing Arts Centre and the National Gallery of Victoria for generations to come, $2.9 million to host the Australian Performing Arts Market for six years and $8.4 million for the local screen industry.
In a move designed to give Victorian kids the best start in life, the Andrews Labor Government will invest $135.9 million in early childhood education. The funding boost will deliver new and upgraded kinder infrastructure, Australian-first language programs, 8,250 new kindergarten places, new teachers and support educators, upgrades for special schools and more support for students with a disability or additional learning needs.
Students across Victoria will have better classrooms and new schools, with a record $1.25 billion investment in the Education State's infrastructure. This includes $353.2 million to plan and build brand new schools across Victoria and $180.8 million to plan and upgrade schools across regional and rural areas. Labor will also spend $77.8 million on new relocatable classrooms and $23.9 million to improve road safety around schools.
Labor has backed Victoria's emergency services with $58.5 million for an extra 90 paramedics and 12 vehicles to meet demand for ambulance services and to improve response times, $28.4 million to provide infrastructure upgrades and facilities for the Country Fire Authority, Victoria State Emergency Service and Life Saving Victoria, and $8.3 million for additional lifeguard services, school swimming and water safety programs, and public swimming pool safety strategies.
Cost of living is front of mind once again, with the Andrews Labor Government looking to ease financial pressure on families with $48 million for the Power Saving Bonus, giving households a $50 bill busting bonus if they seek out a better electricity deal. The Government will also spend more than $266 million to protect the environment, including $70.6 million for Parks Victoria to manage and improve parks, $19.9 million to strengthen the Environmental Protection Agency, and $14.5 million for recycling initiatives.
Labor has cemented Victoria's status as the nation's equality leader with a $5.4 million boost to support and celebrate the LGBTI community. The Victorian Budget 2018/19 provides $2 million to establish a Pride Events and Festivals Fund to support LGBTI events, with $600,000 to secure the future of Midsumma Festival – a global top five LGBTI celebration. The Government will also provide $3.4 million to expand the Victorian health system’s capacity to support trans and gender diverse people.
Having already lead the way with Australia's historic Royal Commission into Family Violence, the Andrews Labor Government is now putting a further $42.5 million towards family violence prevention programs, which comes on top of last year's record $1.9 billion to implement the Commission's 227 recommendations. Labor will also invest an unprecedented $856.6 million to continue the transformation of Victoria’s children and family services system through Roadmap for Reform, moving it from crisis response to prevention and early intervention.
The Victorian Budget 2018/19 spent big on the health system, providing $1.2 billion for hospital upgrades and equipment and $2.1 billion for patient care. Labor will spend $461.6 million to redevelop the Ballarat Base Hospital, $369 million on Australia's first stand alone heart hospital, $115 million to expand Wonthaggi Hospital, $124 million on new records technology for major hospitals in Melbourne, and $2.1 million on a Centre for Research Excellence in Bone Marrow Biology. More than 207,000 Victorians will get elective surgery sooner, with a $217.6 million blitz to cut down waiting times and lists.
The overburdened mental health sector received one of the biggest funding boosts, with a record $705 million investment going towards more mental health support, extra regional rehabilitation facilities and new emergency department crisis hubs. Measures include $232.4 million for 89 new and existing acute inpatient beds and more treatment hours in community-based services, $100.5 million for six new emergency department crisis hubs across the state, $154 million for intensive community mental health services and $10 million for infrastructure and capital works in state-owned mental health and alcohol and drugs facilities.
Bolstering the Government's efforts to keep Victorians safe, the Budget provided $289 million in police funding, with top-line measures including $24 million to target drug, firearm, trafficking, money laundering and child exploitation syndicates online, $41 million to rebuild the Melbourne East Police Station, $25 million for community-led crime prevention programs and $25 million for specialist training and access to long-arm firearms for police. The Budget also provides $119 million for more police prosecutors and $21 million to implement the recommendations of the Expert Panel on Terrorism and Violent Extremism Prevention and Response Powers.
Roads formed a key plank of today's Budget, with the Andrews Labor Government announcing funding for more road upgrades, including $2.2 billion to upgrade 13 arterial roads across Melbourne, $941 million to fix Victoria's regional road network and establishing a dedicated country roads body, an additional $110 million to fast-track the completion of detailed planning and design of the North East Link, and $75 million to upgrade the Mordialloc Bypass to a four-lane freeway and remove three sets of traffic lights.
Labor today announced the biggest boost to TAFE and skills training in Victoria’s history, with $644 million for training initiatives and $184 million for skills programs in schools. The Government will spend $172 million to provide free courses for 30,000 students in skills shortage areas, while the TAFE sector will get $304 million for new classrooms and more than 30,000 additional places. Apprenticeships will receive $43.8 million to improve learning materials, and campuses in regional Victoria will be upgraded, with $35.5 million for Morwell, $59.9 million for the Bendigo Kangan Institute McCrae campus, and $25 million for Port of Sale in Gippsland.
Keen to keep Victoria's reputation as the sporting capital of Australia, the Andrews Labor Government will invest almost half a billion-dollars to boost sport, announcing $225 million for development of Etihad Stadium Sports and Entertainment Precinct, $241.6 million for community sport, including more than $100 million to improve facilities and access for women, $1 million to build a Rugby League Centre of Excellence in Broadmeadows, and $500,000 to start planning for the next stage of the MARS Stadium development.
Continuing with its overhaul of Victoria's public transport system, Labor's transport investment focused on delivering safer, more frequent, accessible travel options now, and planning for the growing needs of suburbs. Spending includes $572 million to deliver further upgrades to Melbourne's busiest rail corridor from the City to Cranbourne and Pakenham, $50 million to complete detailed planning of an airport rail link, $103.5 million to purchase another five X’Trapolis trains, $60 million for new and upgraded car parking, secure storage facilities for cyclists and better access for pedestrians at metropolitan train stations, and $172.9 million to build new train stabling and maintenance facilities on the regional network.
Further Information
This year's Budget Papers can be found here.
Specific cluster measures can be found in Budget Paper No. 4, '2018-19 State Capital Program', while economic results can be found in Budget Paper No. 5, '2018-19 Statement of Finances'.