THE role of the Opposition is to do its best to hold the government of the day to account, along with representing our constituents to the best of our ability.
What I see happening now in Victoria makes me wonder what it will take for people to sit up and do the sums – because none of them will add up.
This week’s Victorian Budget is an indictment of the scandal-plagued Labor Government.
It has ruled in Victoria for 19 of the past 23 years and what Victorians get for that is a record Budget deficit, the highest state debt in Australia, a debt projected to top $162 billion by mid-2025 and no sign anything is going to change soon.
Most importantly for me, as a regional Member, is we are also seeing the true colours of this Labor Government for anyone living outside Melbourne. The regional development and agriculture budgets will suffer more heavy cuts in 2022-23 – $87.1 million gone from regional development and $47.8 million from agriculture.
Then Labor will rip up to 40 per cent more revenue from the hip pockets of already struggling Victorian homebuyers through its new housing tax.
There’s no funding for planning to fix the mess Labor has made of the Murray Basin Rail Project, meaning another lost year of gains for primary producers and transporters in north-west Victoria.
Cruel cuts to road asset maintenance will expose regional Victorian drivers to 12 more months of dangerously crumbling, unsafe roads.
And a $100 million cut to Health Protection leaves breast cancer patients in regional Victoria facing the frightening prospect of losing vital support from specialised McGrath Foundation nurses.
The Liberal-Nationals have rolled out prudent plans to save Victoria from drowning in debt and now we need your help to make sure we can deliver those programs.
Only a change in government in November will put an end to Labor’s debt, waste and mismanagement.
