Message from Kim

3 MAY 2011

STATE BUDGET 2011-12

The 2011-12 Victorian Budget delivers on the Government's election commitments despite challenging financial circumstances. It builds a more sustainable budget position, improves services and plans for future growth.

The Coalition Government's first budget delivers our election commitments to:

ease the burden on families;

restore community safety, deliver quality health services, invest in our children's education;

improve and rebuild our transport infrastructure; and

rebuild regional and country Victoria.

The Coalition is delivering this budget against the backdrop of significant financial challenges.

This year, the Commonwealth Grants Commission announced an unprecedented $2.5 billion cut to Victoria's GST revenue, and combined with the influence of a slowing national economy, Victoria is now forecast to receive $4.1 billion less in GST revenue than expected. The Commonwealth has also announced the deferral of $550 million in promised infrastructure payments.

In addition, a number of key projects announced by the previous government face significant cost overruns due to poor management and under funding. The exposure for Victoria's finances is $2 billion. Importantly, the Coalition is undertaking the necessary work to put these projects on to a sustainable financial footing, with strong management, and to be delivered on time and on budget.

Over a number of years, Victoria's underlying budget position has deteriorated and public debt has grown significantly.

The Coalition is implementing a clear and comprehensive plan to improve Victoria's finances and foster a stronger, more competitive, growing economy.

In its first budget the Coalition is delivering on our commitments to Victoria, prioritising vital community services, and investing in the infrastructure that will deliver a higher quality of living for Victoria's future such as:

Making the community safer through a record commitment to additional police and protective services officers, as well as supporting communities to tackle local crime, reduce violence and address anti-social behaviour.

Improving and rebuilding our transport infrastructure by upgrading public transport services, planning and building new rail services, removing metropolitan and rural level crossings, upgrading local and major roads across metropolitan and regional Victoria, and improving our taxi services.

Improving our health system by delivering new hospital beds, expanding and upgrading hospital facilities, providing extra ambulance stations and officers and funding a substantial expansion of mental health services.

Supporting regional and country Victoria by building new hospitals, upgrading infrastructure and boosting regional businesses.

Protecting vulnerable Victorians through increases to frontline child protection personnel, delivering additional supported accommodation places, respite care and support for Victorians with a disability, their families and carers.

Delivering new education opportunities by building and upgrading our schools including a record investment in upgrading special schools, providing new programs to improve learning outcomes and new initiatives to improve student safety.

Helping households manage the cost of living by reducing the cost of ambulance membership, extending electricity and other concessions, and cutting stamp duty for first homebuyers, young farmers and seniors.

Restoring confidence in government by providing modern, open and accountable government institutions with higher standards of integrity.

The Coalition is beginning a program of major reforms and implementing practical initiatives to assist the most vulnerable in our community, those who need a helping hand, and the organisations that do so much to improve local communities.

We are lifting service delivery, building the infrastructure to meet tomorrow's community needs and securing our future economic prosperity to provide a higher standard of living for all Victorians.

Kim Wells Signature
Kim Wells MP
Member For Scoresby

News Feature - Victorian Coalition Government Achievements In Its First Six Months

Delivering on its commitments in tough times

The Victorian Coalition Government's 2010 election commitments set out a detailed four-year program to strengthen the quality of life of all Victorians.

These commitments were delivered in the 2011-12 Victorian Budget despite a massive $4.1 billion cut to GST revenue by the Gillard Government and a series of financial black holes totalling $2 billion left by the former Labor Government.

The Budget funded the largest-ever recruitment of Victoria Police in a single term of government, with 1,700 police to be hired to protect Victorian families and make our streets safer and 940 Victoria Police Protective Services Officers to be recruited to keep railway stations safe after dark.

The Budget included a record $13 billion in health spending in 2011-12 including new programs to improve health service delivery and drive down waiting lists and a huge total infrastructure capital spending program of $6 billion in 2011-12 to reverse years of neglect of infrastructure by fixing the basics, especially in transport.

The Budget also delivered on the Coalition's commitment of a $100 million minimum surplus each year and reduced spending growth - which has averaged eight per cent a year over the past decade - to 3.2 per cent a year.

The Coalition Government is proud that it has delivered on its commitments to Victorian families.

Fighting for Victorian families

The Coalition Government in the Budget funded a $1.2 billion package of measures to ease cost of living pressures for Victorian families.

The Budget delivered huge stamp duty cuts for first home buyers, pensioners and young farmers and gave relief to families with a 50 per cent cut in ambulance membership fees.
It also provided $445 million for eligible households to benefit from a year-round electricity concession and enable water and sewerage concessions to keep pace with increasing costs - benefiting an estimated 815,000 Victorians.

The Coalition Government has also stood up for Victorian families by securing a better health deal from Julia Gillard and the Federal Government, including more funding, greater transparency and protecting Victoria's country hospital boards from amalgamation.

Communities and families affected by the calamitous Victorian floods also continue to receive support to ensure they can get back on their feet.

Ending waste

The Coalition Government's Budget cut unnecessary wasteful spending by $2.2 billion, including savings from a reduction in ministerial staff, media and marketing positions, consultants, government advertising, political opinion polling, travel, office floorspace and consumables.

The Coalition has also terminated Labor's wasteful plan to spend $20 million on fairy lights for the Westgate Bridge, immediately halted taxpayer-funded party political advertising, reduced by 40 per cent the government's advertising spend and reduced by 25 per cent the number of taxpayer-funded ministerial advisers compared to those employed by the former Labor Government.

Fixing Labor's messes and plugging Labor's black holes

The cost pressures facing the Budget were compounded by $2 billion in black holes left by the former Labor Government's mismanagement, incompetence and under-funding of infrastructure projects.

Because of Labor's incompetence, many Victorian major projects are subject to serious cost blowouts and cost pressures which in some cases are greater than the initial cost of the project, including myki, LEAP/LINK and HealthSmart as well as Regional Rail, the Melbourne Market redevelopment and the West Gate Bridge.

The Coalition Government is determined to put each of these projects on a responsible footing and is investigating the full risk and exposure of each project in order to mitigate further losses of taxpayer funds before progressing with the projects.

Labor conducted 1100 reviews during its time in office, and given that the reviews already completed by the Coalition Government have revealed that Labor's incompetence and mismanagement in government was even worse than previously thought, it is understandable that Labor is very nervous about these reviews.

The reviews being undertaken by the Coalition Government are mostly into the black holes, cost blowouts and hidden project failures and costs left by the former Labor Government.

This is the responsible thing to do, especially given that the irresponsible and incompetent approach of the former Labor Government is what got these projects into such a mess in the first place.

This mess may have been the fault of the former Labor Government, but the Coalition Government is determined to fix it.

For example, the Coalition Government has already funded Labor's black holes for health services and major capital works, including nurses' holiday pay ($55 million), an IT system for the Royal Children Hospital IT ($24.9 million) and the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre ($45 million).

Responsible and caring for Victorians

The Budget extended a hand to Victorians in need because Victorians want a government that cares.

The Budget's focus on supporting vulnerable Victorians included a $200 million package to support those with a disability, their families and carers.

The Budget also provided $34 million to strengthen palliative care.

In the critical area of child protection, a $98 million Budget commitment will help transform the child protection workforce and services in Victoria and ensure better support for our most vulnerable children.

The Coalition Government will increase the frontline child protection workforce by at least 160 staff, or approximately 20 per cent - the largest-ever increase in frontline child protection workers.

For too long, governments have set aside difficult problems in the mental health sector, and the Budget provided an additional $88 million package to address this longstanding neglect.

Coalition Government Strengthens Finances To Grow Victoria's Economy

Victoria's Budget will record a surplus of $1.3 billion in 2014-15 and net debt will be $804 million lower in the 2011-12 Victorian Budget Update delivered by Treasurer Kim Wells today.

Kick Off For New Soccer Facility At Eastern Recreation Precinct

Budding Eastern Metropolitan soccer stars now have a dedicated soccer facility to improve their skills thanks to the completion of the new Knox Regional Football Centre at the fast developing $32 million Eastern Recreation Precinct in Knox.

Coalition Government Delivers The Keys For More Than 4000 First Home Buyers

The Victorian Coalition Government's election commitment to slash stamp duty for first home buyers has assisted more than 4,000 Victorians to purchase their first home.

Strong Outcome For Victoria Despite Challenging Times

Treasurer Kim Wells today welcomed data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicating that Victoria's economy grew by 2.5 per cent in 2010-11, as forecast in the 2011-12 Victorian State Budget.

Victoria Records Strong Full Time Job Growth In October

Full time jobs growth was the main driver of Victoria's strong labour market performance in October according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).