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Budget | May 23, 2023

Victorians being punished for Labor’s financial incompetence

Member for Lowan Emma Kealy is outraged that funding for several key health projects in the Lowan electorate has not been included in the 2023-24 Victorian State Budget.

Tabled today, the budget makes no mention of funding for key local health projects including the redevelopment of the Hamilton Base Hospital ICU and Emergency Department and much needed upgrades to the Mortlake campus of the Terang-Mortlake Health Service and the Willaura campus of the East Grampians Health Service.

“There is virtually no funding for new capital projects in Lowan, with most projects included in today’s budget having been previously announced by Labor, and funding now being drawn out over several years,” she said.

Statewide there has been a $1 billion cut to health care - following on from a $2 billion cut in last year’s budget, clearly showing that Labor has no plan to fix Victoria’s broken health care system.

The duplication of the Western Highway between Ballarat and Stawell has been placed on hold, with road maintenance funding slashed from $702.2 million to just $441.6 million in the last year alone, despite 124 deaths on Victorian roads so far in 2023.

Regional development funding has been cut by more than 80 percent in the same period and agriculture has also been hit hard with cuts of $232.5 million, or almost 34 percent, from last year.

Ms Kealy said under the Andrews Labor Government, life was only going to get harder for regional communities.

“Regional Victoria is still not getting its fair share of funding under Labor, who just don’t recognise that 25% of the state’s population lives in rural and regional Victoria.

“The state budget has confirmed what we already knew – under Labor Victoria is broke, and regional Victorians are being punished for Labor’s incompetence,” she said.