Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes said whether it’s helping with the cost of living, making sure kids can be their best, record funding for the healthcare system or continuing to invest in more of the services families rely on – the Victorian Budget 2024/25 invests in the community.
“With its first Budget, the Allan Labor Government is focused on helping families in Northern Victoria, delivering the projects and services our community deserves,” Ms Symes said.
“From the $400 School Saving Bonus to free vision tests and glasses for kids who need them, this Budget provides real cost of living support for local families.”
With the current cost of living, covering supplies and extracurricular activities can be hard on families doing it tough. Uniforms, camps and excursions – it all adds up.
To address this, the budget is providing a one-off School Saving Bonus to help cover costs.
This $400 bonus will help make sure kids have everything they need for the school day, supporting families with children at government schools and families at non-government schools who need it most.
The budget also includes funding that will triple the free Glasses for Kids program – making sure even more young Victorians can be their best in the classroom, and beyond.
This investment aims to help 74,000 young people, providing free vision screening and prescription glasses for students who need it.
It will also see an investment of $6 million to extend the Get Active Kids vouchers program – providing up to $200 to help eligible families with the cost of sporting club registration, uniforms and equipment.
The budget includes more than $1.8 billion to continue building the Education State – and building a better future for Victoria’s children.
This Budget also aims to help students in Northern Victoria find their passions.
A $6 million investment in Tech Schools will support immersive STEM camps for regional students, as well as the delivery of Tech School programs through remote and flexible learning.
This Budget provides $185 million to bolster the state’s bushfire prevention and response, including boosting specialist aerial capabilities for built-up areas to support firefighters on the front line.
Locally, this investment includes a new CFA pumper for local firies and volunteers, helping keep communities safe.
In recent months, Victorians have already experienced the cruel impacts of fires, floods and storms.
In this Budget, the government said it is continuing its support for those Victorians that have been affected by these catastrophic weather events, with $301.5 million to help them rebuild and recover.
This includes repairs to schools, roads, and other infrastructure, as well as temporary accommodation, relief payments and mental health support for residents who need help.
Further supporting local sporting clubs, this Budget invests a further $300,000 into the continued delivery of Basketball Victoria’s High-Performance Hubs – including in Shepparton.
Community legal services do an incredible job, making sure Victorians can access the legal support they need.
Because of this, the budget includes funding for this important work with $28.8 million for community legal centres and specialist legal services.
Increased cost of living pressure means more Victorians are relying on food relief organisations to feed their families.
This Budget delivers an extra $1.5 million to support the work of six regional food relief hubs – including in Shepparton.
A further $2.15 million will support joint land management of the Barmah National Park in partnership with Yorta Yorta people, making sure Victoria’s First Peoples are at the forefront of preserving Victoria’s natural environment.
Ms Symes said the government knows how important frontline healthcare services are for patients and their families.
For that reason, it is making the biggest multi-year investment in Victoria’s health system in history. It’ll mean our hospitals have the long-term certainty they need over the coming years.
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