World News – AU – 13 Things We Already Know About Today’s Victorian Budget

There are no active cases of coronavirus in Victoria as the state’s last COVID-19 patient was discharged from hospital yesterday

The government has already announced $ 5. 3 billion commitment to the construction of more than 12. 000 social housing in the next four years.

It is said that 1. 000 of the new homes will be reserved for indigenous Victorians, and 1 more. 000 are reserved for victims of domestic violence and 2. 000 people with a mental illness.

The government argues that what it says represents the largest public housing investment by an Australian state government is 43. 000 jobs will be created.

The government has announced $ 2. 2 billion for early work on the first leg of the Suburban Rail Loop, which will run between Cheltenham and Box Hill.

The budget will also include a $ 5 billion commitment for the Melbourne Airport Rail Link, which will be taken over by the federal government.

The state government will also meet the federal government’s $ 2 billion pledge for the Geelong Fast Rail project. New express tracks are being built between Werribee and Laverton to enable faster journeys between Geelong and Melbourne.

The third stage of the Shepparton Line upgrade will provide $ 400 million to enable trains to travel at speeds of up to 130 kilometers per hour.

Mr Pallas has pointed out tax breaks, but it’s not clear what he has in store.

While NSW has announced planned changes to property taxation, the Victorian Treasurer has ruled out stamp duty changes for the time being.

One government approved change is a road charge of 2. 5 cents per kilometer for drivers of electric and other emission-free vehicles and a fee of 2 cents per kilometer for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

Mr. Pallas says revenue will be « more than offset » by $ 45 million from measures to encourage the use of electric vehicles, such as new charging stations.

After ordering a royal commission into the state’s « broken » mental health system, the government promises to fund several recommendations of the commission’s interim report.

Funding for today’s budget includes $ 492 million for 120 mental health beds in Geelong, Epping, Sunshine and Melbourne.

The Prime Minister has already announced that $ 152 million will go to mental health services to respond directly to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There will also be $ 18. 9 million was spent on 35 acute care beds for public mental health patients in private health care.

The financing package also includes $ 19. 4 million to support mental health clinicians in the Victorian Fixed Threat Assessment Center.

And there will be $ 4. 4 million to improve culturally appropriate support for Aboriginal Victorians and $ 3. 9 million is earmarked for mental health support for asylum seekers.

With distance learning leaving many Victorian students in their studies during the lockdown, the government will allocate $ 250 million to help over the next 4. Hire 100 tutors in state schools.

Another US $ 30 million will be spent to attract 600 tutors to work with disadvantaged students in Catholic and independent schools.

The budget includes $ 1. 6 billion for an inclusive package for the disabled that will expand a pilot program nationwide to better identify and respond to the needs of students with disabilities.

The package contains $ 102. 8 million to hire more than 100 additional staff in schools for students with disabilities.

In recent years, the government has offered children three- and four-year-olds free children in funded programs for $ 169. 6 million.

Mr. Andrews says the program aims to make it easier for parents to participate in the workforce, thereby increasing their household incomes and helping the state’s economic recovery.

Families who borrowed laptops and tablets while students were studying from home can keep them in a $ 24 initiative. 5 million.

To encourage more visitors to the Victoria area and get the state’s tourism industry back on its feet, the government is giving out $ 200 vouchers to those looking for $ 400 or more for accommodation or tickets to attractions and tours in the regions.

The $ 465 million tourism recovery package also includes upgrades along the Great Ocean Road, marketing support, and infrastructure upgrades in Gippsland.

Another sector that has been hard hit by the pandemic, the arts, will see more modest spending of $ 17. 2 million to help the industry set up COVID-safe venues for summer performances.

Most of the funds will go to large outdoor events at major state cultural institutions in Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Approximately $ 5 million of the package is earmarked for live music events in regional and suburban communities.

The government will spend $ 797 million on an energy package that includes more discounts for Victorians who install solar panels.

There will also be a one-time $ 250 relief for eligible concession card holders and assistance for low-income individuals who want to install energy efficient appliances to conserve electricity.

The Victorian government will provide a $ 155 million contribution to an Australian $ 550 million institute for infectious diseases, largely funded by the University of Melbourne and its partners.

Health professionals will also be closely monitoring the funds available for the public health system of the state that entered the pandemic with years of underfunding compared to its New South Wales counterpart.

Last month, then-executive director of the Australian Public Health Association, Terry Slevin, said that today’s budget must include a « substantial and long-term commitment to public health infrastructure, training and staffing » to address the painful weaknesses in Focus this year.

On the eve of the budget, the government unveiled plans for a controversial system to provide Victorians with paid nursing and sick leave with casual and insecure work in a number of priority industries.

The government will provide $ 5 million to advise and design a two-year pilot for the project, but aims to ultimately fund the vacation through a levy on industry.

The federal government, opposition and corporate groups argue that corporations cannot pay any additional tax, and the rule undermines the principle that casual workers receive 25 percent compensation as compensation for not attaining sick leave.

The budget will also include $ 80 million for a number of incentives, including tax breaks and flyers, to encourage large international companies to settle in Victoria.

« We recognize that we are not going through the worst economic event right now, » Pallas said.

COVID-19 has hit the state’s economy. By the end of September there were around 290. 000 jobs in Victoria disappeared. And the government has spent $ 13 billion on its coronavirus response and programs to help businesses and communities through the pandemic.

The government is forecasting a deficit of $ 13. 1 billion for 21-22 and a deficit of $ 6. 7 billion the following year.

Even before the coronavirus hit, the state’s net debt was on track to surpass $ 50 billion by 2022-23 as the government took out loans to fund transportation infrastructure like the North East Link.

Now the government plans to increase its credit, in part to fund the projects outlined above that it hopes will create jobs and fuel the state’s economic recovery.

Net debt is set to hit $ 86 billion this year before rising to around $ 155 billion in 2023-24.

Mr Pallas has defended government borrowing, telling ABC state political reporter Richard Willingham that record low interest rates are a good time to borrow and has indicated that Victoria is one of the ten sub-sovereign jurisdictions in the World with a triple is one credit rating.

At a time when costs are rising elsewhere, the government has decided to reassure public sector workers that it will not make large cuts in departments to make up the difference.

Public sector wages have risen significantly under the Victorian Labor government and are one of the largest budget items.

But Mr Pallas said the government will not « make major changes » while continuing to focus on delivering the services the community needs to recover from the pandemic.

« Therefore, from a baseline review perspective, there is currently not much value in wholesale reductions, » he said.

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State Budget, Tim Pallas, Victoria