Not much to smile about for the regions in the budget

THE Latest Victorian Budget offered little to the regions in the way of new initiative with most of the benefits going to metropolitan Melbourne.

The rationale behind it is that it was metro Melbourne that was the most impacted over the last year with protracted lockdowns causing an air of uncertainty for a lot of businesses and people. 

What the Government has done is provide a much-needed major increase in dealing with issues of mental health, issues that have been amplified with the impact of COVID-19.

Local Member for Shepparton District, Suzanna Sheed said, “The budget was a “hold the fort” budget. It addressed debt with higher taxes in some areas, while focusing on the broken state of our mental health systems.

“I am pleased that the funding we received in the budget brings our district closer to $1 billion in State Government investment in our region over the past seven years. Much of these funds are being spent on essential infrastructure in rail, health, education and agriculture.”

Member for Northern Victoria, Wendy Lovell was more critical. “The 2021-22 State Budget is an extremely disappointing one for the Shepparton region, with new infrastructure and service delivery projects ignored and established projects suffering completion time blowouts,” she said.

While balancing the books has gone by the wayside, Federally and for the State, the Victorian Government has applied some new surcharges that look to big business, particularly foreign owned businesses, to support some of the new programs. Very few local businesses will be affected by these measures. 

The big winners were mental health and early childhood education. Mental health experts are extolling the budget as a step in the right direction for an area of public health that has long been neglected.

The Victorian Chamber of Commerce issued a statement that said, “The 2021-22 State Budget is fiscally responsible and will address the need for Victorian businesses to reset and recalibrate in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The government has recognised that supporting our hard-hit sectors, addressing skills gaps, encouraging female participation, incentivising innovation and harnessing the strengths of our regional economy will be central to our short-term economic future.”