Wednesday, 15 May 2024

Budget 2024–25

Kim WELLS (Rowville) (09:52): The recent state budget shows that the state Labor government simply cannot manage money, with all the cuts to programs, the axing of major projects and debt that will continue to rise, from $137 billion to $189 billion. These figures are mind-boggling. To simplify it, they mean the state government needs to spend $25 million per day to pay the interest bill on that debt.

My electorate of Rowville once again missed out on funding for any road projects. In January this year we had a fatality in Wellington Road. We pleaded to make sure that this road was upgraded to reduce the speed and force trucks to only travel in the left lane, and for speed and red-light cameras to be put up with appropriate signage, warning motorists of a camera ahead. Instead, we received a replacement traffic light three months after the incident.

Carrington Primary School in Knoxville at the last election was promised $10 million for a major upgrade. The project has now been axed, and another school community has been misled by this Labor government. Rowville and Scoresby secondary schools are great schools, like our surrounding primary schools, and all desperately need funds for major upgrades. Once again, funding for these schools has been overlooked.

Just when I thought the state government could not get any worse, and the state budget, I read that valuable cancer research has been cut by 75 per cent. How very stupid is that.