We asked Victorians what they thought of the budget. This is what they told us

The Victorian Labor government has announced its bad news budget as it stalls major projects and abandons key promises.

It’s all in a bid to rein in the state’s spiralling debt, Treasurer Tim Pallas says.

Here’s what the Victorians we spoke to had to say.

The first home buyer

Nicholas Spanos, 35, a prospective first home buyer from Carnegie, is single and looking to buy an apartment on his own through the former Coalition government’s First Home Guarantee scheme.

Nicholas Spanos, a first home buyer, says he wants the state government to do more to support young people buying homes.Credit: Eddie JIm

He says he hopes more people will be able to benefit from the Victorian government scrapping its first-home buyers scheme and transitioning to the Albanese government’s Help to Buy scheme.

“Nobody really knows about the help from the federal government for first-time home buyers, maybe this will give it more exposure,” he says.

“If the Help to Buy scheme is a similar scheme [to the previous Coalition government home buyer’s scheme], I’m all for it. Anything to help first time buyers really.”

However, Spanos says the state government urgently needs to consider legislative intervention around real estate agents’ price quotes, which undercut the support that comes from first-home buyers grants.

“I feel like a lot of agents underquote, which doesn’t make things easy when inspecting countless properties as a first-home buyer on a tight budget,” he says. “It gives people a false sense of expectation, which is frustrating.”

The commuter

Electrical engineer Ishan Jagaty commutes for hours a day from his home in Fraser Rise, 24 kilometres north-west of the CBD, to Port Melbourne for work.

Jagaty, 28, said he was feeling “let down” over government plans to stall Western Freeway upgrades, which he said would be a “vital route for the growing north-western suburbs”.

Ishan Jagaty said he questions how the government allocates funds for infrastructure projects.Credit: Jason South

“It’s particularly disheartening given the significant setback with the West Gate Freeway and Tunnel upgrades. At times, I find myself questioning how our Labor government allocates funds for infrastructure projects,” he says.

Jagaty says he is looking forward to the Metro Tunnel project bringing the latest trains to his area, but he questions the lack of cash for the myki ticketing system.

“Why isn’t there a budget allocated to improving myki, which frankly, is sub-par? We deserve better technology,” he says.

The family

Luke and Jess Rose live with their kids Lily, 3, and David, 2, in Boronia. They said Tuesday’s budget was “very sparse” for families like them despite the treasurer calling it a “family-friendly budget”.

“It’s a bit ironic it’s called a ‘family-friendly’ budget because it doesn’t help younger families,” Jess says.

Luke and Jessica Rose with their children David and LilyCredit: Darrian Traynor

The 32-year-old mother and marketing professional spends half her income on childcare and would have liked to see the government do more for young families relying on childcare services.

“I’ve created a second business on the side as a baby sleep consultant to help cover childcare expenses,” she says.

Despite the help announced for families with school-aged children at Victorian public schools with a one-off $400 payment to assist with the cost of school uniforms, camps and sports, Rose says more money should be spent on upgrading public schools.

“We’re actually now looking at a Catholic school for Lily because all the public schools nearby are run-down and old. There’s not much out here. There are better facilities and teacher-to-kid ratio at the Catholic [schools].”

The small business owner

Gerard Kelly runs hospitality venue Queensmith Baretto in the CBD, and has previous experience running other hospitality businesses.

The 44-year-old says small business owners are battling every day to “keep the doors open”, amid surging operational costs and a dip in consumer spending.

Gerard Kelly, owner of Queensmith Baretto, says small businesses are struggling.Credit: Darrian Traynor

Tuesday’s budget did not contain much for small business in Victoria.

“Obviously, I’m disappointed with the lack of support for small businesses – we are in desperate need of some relief and support,” Kelly says.

Kelly says he wants governments to look at long-term solutions, and believes there should be more tax relief for small businesses.

“I think speaking to other small business owners, everyone’s struggling to keep on top of the requirements of ATO payments, just trying to grow your business is almost impossible at this point,” he says.

Kelly suggested a price reduction for utilities would be welcomed. But he said programs the government had, like upgrading refrigeration to be more power efficient, might not help because it wasn’t necessarily applicable to all small businesses.

On payroll tax, Kelly said it was a “terrible tax”, and while it wasn’t applicable to his current business it did impact his previous businesses.

“It’s pretty archaic and doesn’t encourage people to grow.”

Get the day’s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter here.