Goulburn Murray schools share in budget spend

Goulburn Murray region schools were the biggest winners in yesterday’s Victorian budget.

The Victorian Government announced $230 million for school buildings and equipment in the budget.

It includes $1.5 million to rebuild the Toolamba Primary School which was badly damaged by fire in February.

There is funding to keep the Tawonga Primary School open and improvements to those at Euroa, Mansfield, Mount Beauty, Myrtleford and Tallygaroopna.

Visitor facilities at the Mount Buffalo chalet will also be improved and an Indigenous dance academy will be established in Mooroopna.

A total of $2 million will be spent planning the future needs of courts including those at Shepparton and Wangaratta.

The Government will also commit $136 million for fire and emergency services.

But Dr Harry Hemley from the Australian Medical Association says there is no mention of funding in the state budget for the Albury-Wodonga Health Service.

He says the Victorian Government is required to contribute its share of money to running the health service.

Dr Hemley says the Government also needs to better plan for growing demand on health services into the future.

“We’re growing at 100,000 people a year, we need to have a plan and how we’re going to address that growth,” he said.

“In the plan you would have things like the Albury-Wodonga cross border arrangement and all of the small hospitals and how they’re going to fit into it.

“That’s what I mean when I say we need a vision for the future – we need a plan for the future.”

Meanwhile, regional police stations have been granted $10 million for improvements, including money to buy land for a new police station in Echuca.

Campaspe Mayor Peter Williams says it has been a long time coming.

“It is very much a run-down facility and it’s undersized and it certainly doesn’t deliver what the police need to deliver – best quality service,” he said.

“It’s exciting that they’ve identified they’re going to purchase land to build the new station and we hope that that will now roll on to a new police station in the next few years.”

The Liberal Member for Benambra, Bill Tilley, says he is disappointed no money has been allocated to expand the Wodonga police station, which is overcrowded.

“We’ve heard the former chief commissioner of police talking about how she’s been working with this Government about the extensions for the Wodonga police station,” he said.

“[But] no certainty and no time line has been given or any money has been committed to Wodonga police station.”

Group attacks ‘discriminatory’ Youth Allowance changes

Central Victorians have been excluded from a compromise deal to allow some regional students to qualify for Youth Allowance under the old system.

The Senate has passed the Federal Government’s changes which will allow rural and outer regional students to receive the student income support under the old criteria.

But central Victorians, including students from Bendigo, Rushworth, Rochester and Echuca, will have to meet the new tougher rules to get the payment.

Brigid Evans from the Bendigo Youth Allowance Action Group says the new system discriminates against many country students, who will now face tougher barriers to access assistance.

“I think it is still quite discriminatory against regional students,” she said.

“We’ve been lumped in the same category as city students but we don’t have access to nearly as much as they do.”

VicRoads asked to kick in for park plan

The Shire of Campaspe will seek compensation from VicRoads to fund work outlined on in the master plan for Echuca’s Victoria Park.

VicRoad’s proposed route for a second Echuca Moam bridge will run through the park and as a result council has had to amend its master plan for the area.

Mayor Peter Williams says if the bridge goes ahead it will directly impact on the lawn tennis clubs and access to the park.

“Given that the second bridge is going to cut right around the end of Victoria Park, there is clearly going to be an impact on that park,” he said.

“We are hopeful that as a part of that process [VicRoads] may well in fact contribute some of the funds towards making this plan happen.”

Crime stats show mixed bag

The latest Victoria Police statistics show the crime rate fell in most parts of the Goulburn Murray region last year compared to 2008, but in the Campaspe and Moira shires there was an increase of nearly 6 per cent.

There has been more property damage in those areas, with a 25 per cent increase in the Echuca CBD alone.

The overall crime rate in the Wodonga, Indigo and Towong shires increased 0.8 per cent, with burglaries of non-residential properties increasing 17 per cent.

Overall crime in Greater Shepparton was down nearly 2.5 per cent, but there was a 16.7 per cent increase in assaults.

Total crime decreased 5.8 per cent in the Wangaratta and Alpine shires, was down close to 2 per cent in Benalla, Mansfield and Strathbogie, while it fell 3 per cent in Seymour and Yea.