By JESSE GRAHAM AND VICTORIA STONE-MEADOWS
SCHOOLS and community groups were the big winners in the Yarra Ranges and Dandenongs under last week’s State Budget, with millions being splashed to fix up old school buildings in the hills.
Yarra Junction Primary School, The Basin Primary School, Monbulk College and Emerald Secondary College were all benefactors from the budget, with millions of dollars going towards school modernisation and new construction.
Olinda community members campaigning for the return of their pool also received relief in the form of $500,000 in the budget to assist with Yarra Ranges Council’s works to get the pool running by summer.
Monbulk MP, Minister for Education and Deputy Premier, James Merlino, said there were a number of highlights for the community in the budget.
Mr Merlino said Labor’s pledge to re-open Lilydale’s former Swinburne University of Technology campus – one of the party’s biggest pledges in the outer east – is underway, with $10 million in funding allocated through a $320 million TAFE rescue fund.
“Positive talks with Swinburne University, other tertiary providers and community stakeholders are continuing,” he said.
“We are working closely with Swinburne University to progress the sale and re-opening of the site – we expect that the site will be operating in some provision in the first half of 2016.”
Sporting clubs will also benefit from defibrillators and funding to upgrade facilities with women’s change rooms, with Monbulk one of the areas set to receive a $600,000 in funding.
Meanwhile, a $20 million upgrade at the Angliss Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit and Short Stay Unit will mean hills residents will be better serviced closer to home once the project is complete.
A trial of 24-hour public transport on weekends, through the Homesafe Initiative, will also help residents on the Lilydale and Belgrave lines, though details on what services will be available will be announced closer to the starting date, 1 January 2016.
Budget Winners:
*Save the Olinda Pool campaigners: $500,000 has been allocated to the restoration of the Olinda Pool as promised before the election by MP for Monbulk James Merlino. The pool is expected to re-open by the end of the year.
*University students in the outer east: $10 million out of the government’s $320 million TAFE Rescue Fund will be used for the re-opening of Lilydale’s former Swinburne University campus, with the campus set to be operating in the first half of 2016.
*Angliss Hospital patients: $20 million has been announced to upgrade the Angliss’s intensive care unit and short stay unit, as promised before the election. Some $200,000 was allocated in the 2015-’16 budget and the project will be completed in 2019.
*Schools in the Hills: schools in the Dandenong Ranges will be receiving multi-million dollar upgrades under the budget, including Emerald Secondary College ($1.5 million total; $312,000 in 2015-’16), Monbulk College ($3 million total; $541,000 in 2015-’16) and The Basin Primary School ($5.7 million; $1,028,000 in 2015-’16).
*Sporting clubs: 1000 defibrillators will be made available to sporting clubs across the state ($2.7 million), as well as $10 million funding for upgrading facilities to include female change rooms. Of this $10 million, $600,000 was pledged to Monbulk Recreation Reserve by MP James Merlino. Liberal candidate Mark Verschuur pledged $500,000 for the pavilion. Both the defibrillators and the facility upgrades will be provided through grants.
*Monbulk drivers and parents: $1.3 million was allocated in the budget for road resurfacing and speed limit changes around local schools, according to MP James Merlino.
*Family violence campaigners: a Royal Commission into Family Violence has been initiated by the government and will be funded by $57.9 million in this year’s budget ($81.3 million). The commission will report back to the community in early 2016.
*Tradies: Yarra Ranges will receive a new technical school, which will be established along with several others around the state, worth $8 million in total. Also vehicle registration prices will be cut in half for trade apprentices under the budget.
*Public transport users: 24-hour public transport on weekends will be trialled from 1 January 2016. It is unclear whether this will extend to bus services in the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges.
*CFA members: crews will be trained to respond to cardiac-arrest and non-breathing incidents at the same time as paramedics, to increase chances of survival for victims. Fire-fighters suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will have support services upgraded, with a two-year grant to the Austin Health Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital. Some 70 new CFA trucks will be purchased statewide.
*Safe young drivers: the government will trial giving free licences to drivers who complete their four years of P-Plate driving without recording any traffic offences (such as speeding). Currently, drivers who complete their P-Plates without recording offences receive a discount on their licence cost.
*Hunters: the government’s Fox Bounty Program, where hunters collect bounties for the scalps and skins of foxes and wild dogs, will continue in 2015-’16, funded with $1 million.
