The Allan Labor Government is making life easier, safer and more affordable for families in Northern Victoria.

Cost of living pressures are being felt by everyone across regional Victoria. Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East means Victorians are paying more for fuel. That's why this Budget delivers 20% off rego, saving a driver with one car up to $186, and a family with two cars up to $372. It’s real help with the cost of living, right now, while still delivering a surplus.

We’re also taking pressure off the pump with free public transport in April and May – then half-price fares from June 1 until the end of the year. This will save the average daily commuter in Northern Victoria more than $1,300.

The Rural Financial Counselling service offers free help to families across Northern Victorian who are doing it tough, helping them to get their finances back on track. This Budget invests $1.8 million to continue this important work, supporting local farmers and families.

Local families across Northern Victoria are struggling with the cost of living. Expanding place-based information and support services – like Bring Your Bills days – provides real, practical in person supports for those who need it.

Regional Victoria is at the heart of this Budget – and this Labor Government. We’re investing $114 million in regional education. The $75 million Regional Health Infrastructure Fund will go towards supporting regional hospitals and health services. And we’re investing $20 million into the Future Regions Program to boost productivity, livability and investment in Victoria’s regions. Because no matter where you live, every Victorian deserves access to the same quality public services.

Victoria has one of the best school systems in the world, with NAPLAN results that lead the nation. But the rising cost of living is putting pressure on household budgets. From free School Breakfast Clubs, to more affordable uniforms, this Budget invests $59.4 million to help families with school-age kids. This includes expanding the Glasses for Kids program to more schools – delivering free eye tests and free glasses to kids who need them.

From Free Kinder to Free TAFE – and everything in between – the Allan Labor Government invests in education. This Budget provides $5 million to deliver hydrogen and battery electric vehicle training at Wodonga TAFE. It’ll mean young people can get high-quality skills training, close to home.

This Budget invests $25.4 million for capital works at 24 schools across the state, including $298,000 for Toolangi Primary School, $440,000 for Mansfield Primary School, and $499,000 for Cardross Primary School. This Budget delivers upgrades to 59 more schools across the state. For the local community in Yarrawonga, we’re delivering $8.9 million to upgrade Yarrawonga College P-12.  

We're also continuing to help create career pathways for secondary students, helping them find rewarding jobs in in-demand industries. This Budget continues the Education Benalla Program and the Shepparton Education Plan, helping kids reach their full potential.

Managing the time between school hours and work hours can be a juggle for every family. But for families with children with disabilities, those challenges can be complicated. We’re helping families by continuing to fund high intensity outside of school hours care at 35 specialist schools, including Banmira Specialist School.

The Allan Labor Government always invests in our health system. Since 2014, we’ve delivered 11 new hospitals and hired 41,900 nurses, midwives, doctors and healthcare workers. This Budget invests to hire 250 extra graduate nurses and delivers fast-tracked surgery and specialist appointments for kids.

To help locals across Murray Plains stay healthy, we’re investing $1.1 million to continue the Healthy Loddon Campaspe program, with a focus on healthy eating and keeping people active.

As part of our $284 million investment to open and expand more hospitals in growing outer suburbs and regions, we're delivering $7 million to operationalise the Shepparton Hospital PET scanner.

When critical illness or injury strikes, the emergency department is exactly where you need to be. But some conditions don’t need to be treated in hospital. Urgent Care Clinics deliver healthcare that’s urgent, but not life-threatening. They’re open late and on weekends, when it can be hard to get an appointment with a GP. And they’re completely free. Victoria was the first to introduce this model that has now been adopted by the Commonwealth and rolled out Australia-wide. With this Budget, we’re investing $20.9 million to continue running nine Urgent Care Clinics – including at Wodonga and Mildura Urgent Care Clinics.

Victoria has more police than any other state. With this Budget, we’re boosting police resources by recruiting 200 police reservists for desk jobs. This $62 million investment will free up frontline officers, making sure they’re out where they’re needed most and keeping communities in Northern Victoria safe. We’re also investing $33.5 million in the Violence Reduction Unit, to stop crime before it starts.

Early intervention programs help prevent reoffending and helping to keep the community safe. That’s why this Budget invests $3 million in the highly-successful Youth Crime Prevention and Early Intervention Project, where police and WEstJustice have partnered to help at-risk young people get their lives back on track, keeping the community safe.

Victoria is one of the most fire-prone areas in the world, which is why we're delivering an additional $100 million for new CFA tankers and pumpers to ensure our firefighting fleet can protect Victorians. We're also investing $26.2 million to deliver CFA facilities. This includes new modern stations for Woodvale and Charlton Brigades on existing CFA land, making sure our emergency services have all the resources they need to keep the community safe.

Agribusiness is a cornerstone of our regional economies including in Eastern Victoria. This Budget invests $7.4 million to support those working in agriculture, including backing the next generation of women leaders through the Rural Women’s Network Leadership and Mentoring Program.  

For generations, the Country Women’s Association of Victoria has been looking out for regional communities. The Allan Labor Government is proud to support the CWA with $150,000 to provide financial relief and practical help to women, children and families in need. 

This Budget also invests $3.95 million to deliver a new pool for Rochester – an important redevelopment project for local families as the region continues to recover from floods.

With this Budget, we’re making life easier by giving busy Victorians time back in their day, with better roads and more public transport. We’re funding the biggest roads blitz in the state’s history – $1.04 billion is going towards rebuilding, repairing and resurfacing roads across Victoria, with 70 per cent of the funds going to regional Victoria.

This Labor Government has delivered upgrades to every regional train line. We’ve introduced fairer V/Line fares – capping the cost of travel at the same price as a metro daily, no matter how far you travel.

And with this Budget, we’re investing to make regional trains even better. This includes $29.85 million to run even more services on the Shepparton Line, making it easier for families in the northern part of our state to get around by public transport.

Investing in roads helps to give busy Victorians time back in their day. This Budget makes the biggest investment in roads funding – ever. This record spend on road maintenance will fix potholes and upgrade road surfaces, delivering better roads for families from across Northern Victoria. We’re progressing planning for improvements to Tooleybuc Bridge, supporting safer and more reliable journeys for locals and visitors.

Community sporting clubs bring locals together. Through our Get Active Kids voucher program, we're making sure the cost of fees and equipment doesn't keep kids from playing the sport they love. This Budget invests $250,000 for new cricket nets at Kilmore Cricket and Recreation Reserve, and $250,000 to upgrade Mildura Lawn Tennis Club, making local facilities even better.

Having somewhere safe and secure to rest your head at night is a basic human right. This Budget continues to invest to help people break the cycle of homelessness including a $17.5 million package for nine new outreach teams that are supporting rough sleepers and helping connect them to support across Northern Victoria.

Labor is investing in Northern Victoria – do the Liberals support our investments, or will they cut them?

Quote attributable to Jaclyn Symes MP, Member for Northern Victoria

“We know regional families in Northern Victoria are feeling the pinch of higher transport and fuel costs.”

“This Budget delivers direct relief for the household budget—slashing costs for those long drives with cheaper regional fares, and taking 20% off car rego.”