Victorian Budget: What’s in it for you

WITH big dollars splashed out for public transport, roads and students, these are the big winners from today’s Victorian Budget.

WITH Melbourne set to overtake Sydney as the biggest city in Australia by 2030, today’s Victorian Budget has been framed as a key tool to capitalise on the state’s growth.

With big dollars spent on public transport, roads, crime and students, news.com.au has broken the Budget down so you can see what’s in it for you.

TRAINS

A fully funded Melbourne Metro Tunnel is the big-ticket public transport item.

Daniel Andrews’ Labor government has pledged $2.9 billion over the next four years to begin construction on the $10.9 billion project, which will allow more trains to run in and out of Melbourne’s CBD.

The project includes two 9km tunnels under the CBD, five new underground stations, including two connected to Flinders Street and Melbourne Central.

Other key train funding in the Budget includes:

* Increased peak-hour services for Melbourne’s northeastern suburbs will be made possible via the $140 million Hurstbridge line upgrade, which will duplicate the railway line between Heidelberg and Rosanna

* $518 million to upgrade the railway line between Melbourne and Ballarat

* $875 million for 28 high-capacity trains for the Metro Tunnel

* $588 million to extend the South Morang railway line to Mernda, one of Victoria’s fastest-growing areas

* $50 million to upgrade Frankston railway station

In his Budget speech this afternoon, Treasurer Tim Pallas made the bold declaration that the new spending would “enable Melbourne’s passenger rail network to take its place among the great public transport cities of the world”. Now, that’s a big claim.

ROADS

The government aims to help Victorians spend less time in traffic with a congestion-busting $6.2 billion for roads.

The main cash splash is $1.46 billion over four years for the Western Distributor, a second river crossing for Melbourne designed to provide an alternative to the clogged West Gate Bridge.

It will create 5600 jobs and cut travel times from Geelong by 20 minutes.

Other road projects funded include:

* $38.4 million to duplicate Hallan Rd between Ormond Rd and the South Gippsland Highway

* $50.1 million to widen Dohertys Rd from two to four lanes between Fitzgerald Rd and Grieve Pde

* Up to $139.4 million to widen Plenty Rd in Mill Park

STUDENTS

Nearly $1 billion will be spent on building new schools or upgrading rundown ones.

The Andrews Government has hailed the funding boost as “the largest ever single investment by a Victorian government in school infrastructure”.

Twenty-three new schools will be either built or completed, including the new Richmond High, Taylors Hill secondary, Tarneit West Public, Prahran High and two new primary schools in South Melbourne.

In what has been called a “building blitz”, the government will spend $92 million to build 10 new tech schools in the Ballarat, Banyule, Bendigo, Casey, Geelong, Gippsland, Monash, Whittlesea, Wyndham and Yarra Ranges regions.

IF YOU’RE WORRIED ABOUT HEALTH

Regional Victoria will get a massive boost from to its health sector, with $2.9 billion being spent on upgrades.

More than $800 million will go towards giving hospitals in Shepparton, Western Footscray and Sunshine a facelift.

The Austin Hospital, too, will receive $40.8 million for critical infrastructure works.

A major health win for the state will be Victoria’s first ever heart hospital, but a construction date is yet to be set.

Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy said “after four years of crisis and neglect”, the government was also now giving the ambulance system $144 million so they could deliver care quicker.

IF YOU’RE WORRIED ABOUT CRIME

The Budget has pledged $600 million for police, including 406 new officers and 52 support staff.

The document also makes good on the Andrews Government’s promise to implement all 227 recommendations of the Royal Commission into Family Violence, which was inspired by Rosie Batty’s tragic loss of her son Luke, 11, who was killed by his father in front of onlookers after a cricket training session in 2014.

The Budget will provide more than half a billion in funding to tackle family violence through more housing and refuges, counsellors, prevention programs and support for children.

It includes $152 million for a “housing blitz” to shelter more victims so they don’t have to choose between homelessness or an abusive relationship.

The Budget will also invest $235 million to improve the supervision of violent criminals after they leave jail. An additional $84 million will be spent on services for high-risk offenders, including building a new, secure detention facility for the state’s worst crims.

IF YOU CARE ABOUT THE BUDGET BOTTOM LINE

The Treasurer has pitched the Budget as one that spends up big, while remaining fiscally responsible.

“We can be relied upon to make the investments required to help the Victorian community succeed,” Mr Pallas told Parliament this afternoon. “But we will also manage our finances responsibly … In the end it’s about getting it done.”

The Budget forecasts an operating surplus of $2.9 billion in 2016-17 and a $9.2 billion surplus over the next four years.

IF YOU ARE ABOUT CHILDCARE

The Budget has set aside $10 million to build and plan for new early learning facilities in growth areas.

IF YOU ARE ABOUT THE ARTS

Melbourne’s Arts Centre, State Library and Melbourne Recital Hall are all in line for new funding.

BUDGET’S BIG WINNERS:

* MOBILE PHONE USERS: $11.1 million has been pledged to improve mobile coverage in regional Victoria.

BUSINESSES: The payroll tax threshold will be gradually increased from $550,000 to $650,000 by 2019-20, in the hope it will increase the prospects of investing in job creation. The government has also allocated $116 million to woo new businesses to Victoria.

JOB-SEEKERS: It will be more lucrative for business to give formerly retrenched workers a job, thanks to new government tax incentives. The government will also spend $53 million on establishing the new Jobs Victoria agency.

* MELBOURNE’S WESTERN SUBURBS: The growing western suburbs of Melbourne will find it easier to commute to and from the city thanks to the $518 million to upgrade the Ballarat railway line. The funding will duplicate the line from Deer Park West to Melton and include new platforms and new peak-hour services.

* LATROBE VALLEY: The Budget pledges $51.2 million for the Latrobe Valley to rehabilitate the community after the Hazelwood mine fire. Money will go towards the health needs of residents, mine site land rehabilitation and air quality monitoring.

* PENGUINS: $58 million for a new Penguin Parade Visitor Centre in Phillip Island.