One Gippsland Welcomes Jobs, Jobs, Jobs Budget
One Gippsland has today welcomed the release of the historic 2020-21 Victorian Budget which has a strong focus on a jobs lead recovery as the state emerges from COVID-19 restrictions.
"This year Gippsland has been devastated by not only COVID-19 restrictions but also from catastrophic bushfires and a prolonged and destructive drought," stated One Gippsland Chair, Cr Brett Tessari.
"Getting people back to work through business support, education and skills programs, as well as new job-creating infrastructure and tourism support, will be key to our region's recovery - today's budget delivers on that,” he said.
Investments announced as part of the budget (including those that have been made in recent weeks) include:
Gippsland Programs
Tourism
$18.5 million for the Gippsland Tourism Recovery Package (as part of the $465 million Victorian Tourism Recovery Package)
$3.5 million to build 10 eco-pods at Cape Conran Coastal Park;
$1.5 million for Metung Hot Springs will receive to support the establishment of a year-round geothermal mineral spring that can welcome 250 guests;
$1 million will go towards the Nunduk Spa and Eco-Resort proposed for the southern shores of Lake Wellington;
$3.5 million for a community-led restoration of the historic timber trestle Snowy Rail Bridge, providing a safe pedestrian and cycling crossing on the East Gippsland Rail Trail;
$2 million to create more camping spots in East Gippsland;
$2.8 million to improve access and visitor facilities at Mallacoota Inlet;
$350,000 to help the koala trail at Raymond Island accommodate more visitors; and
$3.85 million to provide better access to Point Hicks Lighthouse.
Environment/Biodiversity
$474 million protecting vulnerable wilderness and improving visitor facilities
$23 million for Wilsons Promontory enhancements to create an internationally significant biodiversity sanctuary and build a new visitor centre; and
$6 million will continue the Wild Dog Control program across Gippsland and north-east Victoria.
Bushfire Preparedness
Build and Upgrading Fuel Breaks: Building and upgrading 1,447 kilometres of fuel breaks across Victoria targeting the highest priority fire risk areas. This includes upgrading the temporary Cowwarr‑Bruthen fuel break in Gippsland, built during the 2019‑20 fire season.
$2.2 million for the construction of a New Country Fire Authority Station in Newborough.
Road Connectivity
$241 million Investment: to duplicate a 43 kilometre stretch of the Princes Highway between Traralgon and Sale.
Youth
Funding to support Morwell’s Good Money Store: Supported so it can continue to help vulnerable Victorians in financial trouble.
$1.32 million to recruit more youth workers at Latrobe Youth Space
Housing
$6 billion Big Housing Build includes at least $60 million for the Latrobe Valley and $25 million for Bass Coast;
$3.8 million Victorian Property Fund: to support vulnerable Victorians with the construction of social housing options in Gippsland, including:
$1.5 million for new disability housing units in Sale
$2.3 million for five relocatable studios to be placed in the backyard of homes in Churchill, Drouin, Moe, Morwell, and Traralgon through the Kids Under Cover Studio Program – an early intervention approach to address youth homelessness.
Community Upgrades
Enhancing Local Community Facilities: Upgrades scheduled for the Latrobe Creative Precinct and the Nyora Station and Korumburra Station buildings plus a new CFA station at Winnindoo.
$9 million For Community Use of Vacant Rail Buildings: Government will restore and upgrade ten (2 of which are in Gippsland) former railway buildings to allow for multipurpose use.
Education
$100 million Upgrades for Gippsland Schools: To be shared by Bairnsdale and Korumburra secondary colleges, Warragul Regional College, Baringa Special School, Traralgon and Kunai colleges, Churchill North Primary and Hazelwood North.
$25.76 million for Wonthaggi Secondary College: For the next stage of their San Remo campus which will accommodate 500 students on completion.
$2.7 billion Building Works package, Gippsland institutions include:
Latrobe Special Developmental School; and
TAFE Gippsland.
Health
$4.4 million investment for Traralgon: to create residential beds for those recovering from alcohol and drug dependencies.
Arts
$35 million to improve creative spaces, including:
Latrobe Creative Precinct landscaping and forecourt works.
State-Wide Programs
Employment
$49 billion Jobs Plan: Aims to create 400,000 jobs by 2025- half of them by 2022. The investment includes:
Jobs for Victoria, a $619 million investment that will help those most impacted by the pandemic: women, young people and Victorians without a formal qualification, but plenty of experience;
The Jobs for Victoria investment includes $250 million to partner with employers to help subsidise the wages of up to 10,000 new workers; and
$150 million of that wage subsidy support will go towards employing women and $50 million of that for women over the age of 45.
Secure Work Pilot Scheme: Providing up to five days sick and carers pay at the national minimum wage for casual or insecure workers in priority industries.
Business Incentives
$1.5 billion New Jobs Tax Credit Plan: For Victorian businesses and families. It supports those small and medium businesses that rehire staff, restores hours or creates new jobs. Under the plan, these businesses will get tax credit of ten cents for every dollar it increases taxable Victorian wages.
Digital Connectivity
$626 million Digital Future Now Package: to improve mobile coverage and broadband access;
$300 million to eradicate Mobile Black Spots in populated areas of regional Victoria;
$250 million to co-fund business-grade broadband connectivity for regional communities through the Gigabit State program;
$64 million Digital Skills and Jobs Program to provide regional Victorians looking for work with training, internships and opportunities for employment.
Energy
$682 million to drive cheaper, cleaner energy including accelerating the development of new Renewable Energy Zones across.
A one‐off $250 payment is provided to help cover the cost of electricity bills for eligible concession cardholders.
$448 million to help more Victorians improve the energy efficiency of their home. This includes:
$335 million to replace older wood, electric or gas-fired heaters with new more efficient heating and cooling for 250 000 low‐income households and
$112 million to upgraded energy systems for 35 000 social housing homes.
Education
Early Childhood
$170 million to make kinder free next year, saving families around $2 000 for every child enrolled in a participating funded kindergarten program.
$82 million to increase the availability of before and after school care. Grants of up to $75 000 will be made available to start new outside school hours care programs.
$68 million to provide grants to local government and other eligible providers to build, expand and upgrade Kinders and early childhood facilities.
$21 million to help cover the cost of kids’ sport, with $200 vouchers for sports equipment, uniforms or memberships.
TAFE
$1 billion in TAFE and training including:
up to 80 000 new Free TAFE and subsidised training places. Almost 60 000 of these places will be in Free TAFE courses including health, and community and disability services;
$155 million to upskill creating new opportunities for young people, women and those most affected by economic disruption to reskill and upskill;
$57 million to deliver accredited skill sets and a workforce skillset pilot, helping unemployed Victorians reskill and find a job fast;
$19 million to introduce innovative new models for apprenticeships and traineeships, including enhanced support for apprentices most at‐risk of dropping out, and new measures to encourage women to pursue non‐traditional roles, including in the building and construction industry;
Funding to expand the pilot of higher apprenticeships and traineeships in the social services sector. This will create opportunities for 400 existing workers.
to continue their employment, while also validating their on the job work experience by gaining a high‐level qualification; andFunding will also attract and support people to reskill as teachers at Victorian TAFEs, including teacher scholarships and mentoring.
Higher Education
$350 million Higher Education State Investment Fund to support regional universities to fund capital works, applied research and research partnerships. The Fund is open to projects based in regional campuses such as Federation University.
Health
$2.8 billion of funding to support our health services, including supporting the delivery of elective surgery delayed during the pandemic.
$85 million to upgrade and replace medical equipment in rural, regional and metropolitan hospitals.
$10 million to renew rural residential aged care facilities.
$40 million to install solar power and high efficiency LED lights in Victoria’s public hospitals.
$32 million in preventing, treating and improving recovery from cardiac, stroke and cancer conditions. This includes increased rural community testing and screening.
$5 million to contribute to the construction of a new 20-bed private respite service to help meet the end of life care needs, offering an alternative to the hospital.
Mental Health
$869 million to ensure Victorians have better mental health support, starting to implement the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System’s interim report findings and recommendations, including:
$492 million to build 120 more acute mental health beds;
$21 million to deliver the statewide expansion of the Hospital Outreach Post‐Suicidal Engagement (HOPE) service, with individual, intensive and one‐on‐one support for Victorians as they rebuild their lives;
$16 million to support Victorians with lived experience of mental illness to use their personal expertise to improve our mental health system;
$7.7 million to address workforce shortages in the mental health sector and support future expansion of the workforce; and
$4.4 million to continue support for Aboriginal wellbeing programs and commence design to establish a new Aboriginal Social and Emotional Wellbeing Centre.
$26 million to meet critical demand, funding extra inpatient beds and increased access to community mental health services.
To support Victorians who want to join the workforce (Mental Health), the Budget provides $13 million to promote pathways into employment, including scholarships and mentoring.
Note: * Note Gippsland allocation below
Regional-Wide Programs
Regional Business Incentives
50% Stamp Duty Concession: the purchase of commercial and industrial properties will be brought forward to January 2021, encouraging more businesses to open, relocate or expand, in regional Victoria.
Regional Tourism
*$474 million to protecting vulnerable wilderness and improving visitor facilities.
*$465 million Victorian Tourism Recovery Package: to help the sector bounce back after a year of bushfires and COVID-19 restrictions.
Regional Agriculture
$115 million investment in the future of Victorian agriculture, assisting the sector to become more innovative, expand into new markets and create new jobs, including:
$65 million to support a new agriculture strategy, for Victorian Farmers, growers and producers with our state’s new agriculture strategy. This investment will deliver better infrastructure and new technology to help our farmers connect with new markets around the world; and
$50 million to upgrade the accommodation and research and learning facilities at regional agricultural training facilities.
$2 billion Breakthrough Victoria Fund will drive investment in research and development and the commercialisation of new innovations to accelerate agri-food industry growth and support jobs.
Regional Energy
$1.6 billion investment in clean energy: Includes six new Renewable Energy Zones, including one in Gippsland.
Regional Arts
*$35 million to improve our regional creative spaces and support new and touring exhibitions.
Regional Waste
$41 million to build regional material recovery facilities (To fast‐track shift to a circular waste economy, and in addition to the 10‐year $322 million Recycling Victoria package announced earlier this year, this Budget invests).
Regional Health
$2 billion towards Hospitals and Health Services across the State: To build, expand and modernise hospitals and health services.
$120 million for Regional Health Infrastructure Fund: which has delivered hundreds of local projects across our state.
*$4.4 million investment for Traralgon: to create residential beds for those recovering from alcohol and drug dependencies.
Regional Education
*$254 million to repair and upgrade 44 schools
$94 million 10 special schools in regional Victoria
*$156 million to extend the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund, delivering local projects identified by local communities.
$1.6 billion investment will transform how we support students with disability and their families, doubling the number of students receiving extra support in the classroom to 55 000.
$302 million to continue the rollout of universal three‐year‐old kindergarten, including in rural and regional communities.
Regional Rail
*$3.8 billion to upgrade and support our regional rail services to make sure more regional passengers can spend more time at home. This includes:
$188 million to support reliability, punctuality and safety across our regional passenger and freight rail network.
$2 billion Regional Rail Revival program, which is upgrading every regional passenger rail line in the State, improving journeys and creating regional jobs.
Regional Sport
$110 million for the Community Sports Infrastructure Stimulus Program to build and upgrade community sports facilities across the State, in partnership with local communities and councils.
$27 million will deliver new and upgraded community sport and recreation upgrades.
This $21 million investment will help children get involved in organised activities by providing $200 vouchers for sports equipment, uniforms or memberships.
Regional Bushfire Preparedness
$124 million for the establishment of Bushfire Recovery Victoria.
$46 million for the management of bushfire risk through expanded mechanical fuel treatments and the recruitment of additional firefighters.
$20 million investment over two years will staff the State Control Centre 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
$4 million to enhance public emergency warning and information systems, and support emergency staff to access critical information while they’re out in the field.
Regional Recovery
$10 million in grants to address the urgent recovery needs of regional communities, including funding for short‐term stimulus projects to get more regional Victorians into work.
$156 million for the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund, including:
$110 million for the Economic and Community Development Fund to support priority community projects that can be activated quickly to create and retain jobs;
$36 million in additional funding for the Regional Jobs Fund to support businesses to develop and expand their operations; and
$10 million for regional communities to accelerate planning and business cases for projects of strategic importance.
“In addition to the important programs that Gippsland has been allocated in the Budget, we further look forward to working with the State Government to ensure Gippsland is the front of mind when new programs announced today open for application," Cr Tessari said.
"On behalf of our One Gippsland members, we wish to congratulate the Government for today's budget, delivered in a time of great need - getting people back to work and our state on a path to a prosperous future is a shared ambition for us all," Cr Tessari concluded.