With the State Budget around the corner, Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull, is calling for additional roads and health funding in what the Government itself has already said will be a “tight budget”.
Mr Bull said the Treasurer has pre-emptively flagged cuts to community sport and the arts, but feared it would be a lot worse as Labor addresses its soaring debt.
“To paint the picture of the scenario we are facing, Victoria’s debt is currently around $130 billion, and ratings agencies have forecast this will grow to $247 billion by 2027 - greater than Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania combined.
“This would see debt repayments rise from the current $15 million per day we are currently paying in interest, to closer to $40 million per day by 2027 – a very depressing outlook.
“The independent Parliamentary Budget Office shows Victoria is already the highest-taxed state in the nation. In 2023-24, the Victorian Government will collect an average of $5,074 in state taxes per person,” Mr Bull said.
That compares with $4,707 in NSW, $3,647 in Queensland, $2,970 in South Australia and $2,900 in Tasmania.
“Despite the recent land tax changes, which are seeing a massive decrease in rental properties available and forcing rental payments up, the Government has flagged limited new taxes in the Budget, but rather forecast funding cuts to rein in debt.
“This will mean service levels will be impacted. In recent years we have seen a 40 per cent cut to road maintenance funding, and health services and hospitals have recently been told to ‘make savings’, but not impact front line services.
“My view is, our health services need a funding boost, not be asked to make savings. How can you cut millions from local health and hospital budgets without impacting front line services or enforcing local job losses? It cannot be done,” said Mr Bull.
“Already in the past 12 months, we have seen the pre-election promises for airport rail and the fast rail to Geelong scrapped, the Commonwealth Games cancelled and a host of other projects cancelled – all straight after the election and within months of the Government guaranteeing them.
“We recently learned the Suburban Rail Loop cost, that was $50 billion a few years back, has blown out again to $216 billion, and the North East Link toll road project has blown out by another $10 billion. These are billions of dollars, not millions.”
Mr Bull said Labor cannot manage money or its projects and, as a result, it is coming after your money - more than any other State Government in the country.
“It is clear they will have to rein in costs as a result of their mismanagement, but they should start with cuts to the massively increased public service, leave our hospitals and health services alone, and reinstate the road funding cuts they have overseen,” he said.
Monday, 15 April 2024
