Federal Budget’s $700m cash splash to save Victoria’s most marginal seat

More than $1b for extra lanes on 13 gridlocked arterial roads including in Melbourne’s booming southeast is part of a major cash splash in tomorrow’s Federal Budget aimed at marginal seats across Victoria. Here’s where the money will go.

Liberal Member for Corangamite Sarah Henderson holds Victoria’s most marginal seat. Picture: Alan Barber

A last-ditch multimillion-dollar attempt to retain Victoria’s most marginal seat will form a major part of tomorrow’s federal Budget, as the Morrison Government tries to kickstart its campaign for re-election.

The $700 million commitment for Sarah Henderson’s seat of Corangamite, which she holds by just 0.03 per cent, will be unveiled in Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s first Budget.

It follows last month’s pledge of $2 billion for a high-speed train from Geelong to the city.

A $2.1 billion package for Victorian road and rail projects - including $1.1b for suburban roads covering upgrades in the city’s southeast and north - will now also be directed at marginal seats across Melbourne.

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Parliament’s frantic final week before a month-long election campaign will also include:

• A LABOR climate policy pledge to increase take-up of electric vehicles so that they make up half of all new car sales by 2030;

• BUDGET commitments of $300 million to seal roads in the Dandenong Ranges, where the government must retain the seats held by Jason Wood and Speaker Tony Smith in order to hang on to power;

• MORE than $1 billion for extra lanes on 13 gridlocked arterial roads, including in marginal seats in southwest suburbs; and

• CASH to help pensioners and low-income families pay electricity bills.

Funding for the duplication of 12.6km of track from South Geelong to Waurn Ponds will come on top of billions of dollars already pledged over the past few months in an effort to save the seat of Corangamite, which takes in the southern suburbs of Geelong and the Surf Coast.

On top of $3 billion in rail commitments, also promised is more than $40 million for road upgrades, millions towards a new Paediatric Emergency Department, and a $185 million City Deal.

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the latest Victorian promises were about “getting Australians home sooner and safer”.

“I want people across Victoria to spend less time in traffic and more time doing what’s important to them. Our investment in congestion-busting infrastructure means parents spend more time with their kids, tradies can spend more time on site, and less time in traffic,” Mr Morrison said.

The suburban road package, matching a $1.1 billion pledge from the Andrews Government, will add extra lanes to major routes in some of the fastest-growing areas of Melbourne,

Urban Infrastructure Minister Alan Tudge said the roads, used by hundreds of thousands of commuters each day, would “change lives” in northern and southeast Melbourne.

He said the $300 million package for the Dandenongs would enable 500km of roads — many in high bushfire risk areas — to be sealed over the next nine years.

The Geelong rail upgrade will also boost capacity to allow more frequent services.

Second platforms and station upgrades will take place at Waurn Ponds, South Geelong and Marshall, with a new Barwon River rail bridge .

WHAT WE CAN EXPECT

■ Tax cuts for lower-income workers

■ Fast-track income tax cuts, as part of an already-legislated $144 billion plan

■ Extra bonuses for retirees and pensioners

■ More small business tax breaks

■ Big increases in regional infrastructure projects

WHAT WE KNOW

ENERGY

■ One-off payments to 3.9 million Australians — $75 for singles, $125 for couples — to help with rising electricity prices

HEALTH

■ $496 million on cancer treatment over six years

■ $220 million from Medical Research Future Fund to research heart disease

■ $200 million to reduce out-of-pocket costs for scans

■ $20 million for epilepsy support services

INFRASTRUCTURE

■ $2 billion for a fast train service between Melbourne and Geelong

■ $2.2 billion to fix traffic black spots, potholes and ageing country bridges

EDUCATION

■ $3.4 million to attract women into science, tech and maths careers

SMALL BUSINESSES

■ Instant asset write-off will be extended to June 2020 and upped from $20,000 to $25,000

SOCIAL SECURITY

■ $78 million for housing for women and children fleeing family violence

CHILDREN

■ $22.5 million to establish the National Centre for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse

ONLINE

■ $25 million for privacy watchdog to investigate dodgy tech companies

SECURITY

■ $570 million boost for counter-terrorism and anti-espionage

■ $294 million to upgrade airport security

SPORT

■ $190 million upgrades to female toilets/change rooms at sporting grounds

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Originally published as Federal Budget’s $700m cash splash to save Victoria’s most marginal seat