Goulburn Murray schools share in budget spend

May 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

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.”

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Budget ‘short-sighted’ on health

May 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The peak body for medical practitioners has criticised the State Government’s health-focused budget, saying it does not deliver enough for patients.

The Australian Medical Association’s Victorian President, Dr Harry Hemley, says billions of dollars in extra funding for hospitals is a “good start”.

But he says the budget is short-sighted in its plans for the future.

“If we are going to keep our population growing, and look after our aged people, we need more beds,” he said.

“We need a vision for the future, and I’m afraid this budget does not deliver that.”

The State Opposition has echoed the concerns, saying the Government’s promise to build and upgrade hospitals is misleading.

The Opposition Leader, Ted Baillieu, says some of the projects have been funded outside the traditional four-year funding cycle.

“Anybody who wakes up in Bendigo and thinks this is fantastic, the Government have delivered a new hospital, they have got another thing coming to them,” he said.

“There is only $200 million of that hospital funded over the next four years. There is $277 million short in the next four years.”

The Victorian Aboriginal Controlled Health Organisation has also expressed dismay at the Government’s lack of extra funding for indigenous health.

The organisation’s chief executive officer, Jill Gallagher, says the Government should have used the budget to close the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous life expectancies.

“The health infrastructure dollars, the $4 billion, that is fantastic,” she said.

“We would been happy if one per cent of that had come to indigenous health infrastructure. We are really, really sad and disappointed.”

But not all reactions to Victoria’s 154th budget have been negative.

Tim Piper from the Australian Industry Group has welcomed the Government’s reductions to payroll tax and WorkCover premiums.

“We have got to be happy that the Brumby Government have been able to come through with some decent deductions,” he said.

Brian Walsh from the Master Builders Association is also pleased to see increases to the first homebuyers grant.

“The budget is one which will make builders happy, because there is work for the commercial sector as well as the residential,” he said.

The public transport users association has welcomed spending on new trams and rail infrastructure, but says the package ignores problems with bus services in Melbourne’s outer suburbs.

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Vic worse off under health takeover: AMA

April 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Australian Medical Association’s (AMA) Victorian branch has backed Premier John Brumby’s opposition to the Federal Government’s planned health takeover.

In a letter to the Premier, the AMA says the plan penalises Victoria for having the best- performing health system in the country.

AMA Victoria president Dr Harry Hemley says Victoria will be worse off under the plan.

“If we are to sign up as it is now, we would not get one extra dollar for the next four years into our hospital system,” he said.

“We would not receive one more episode of patient care or one more hospital bed for the next four years.”

Dr Hemley says the Premier is taking the right stand from the point of view of patient care.

“Things are going to get worse unless we can more beds and more services in our public hospitals,” he said.

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Call for new children’s hospital

March 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Southern Health network has revealed its plans for a new children’s hospital in Melbourne, but it is waiting for State Government approval.

The network wants a 200 bed hospital with paedatric theatres, a cancer centre and a bigger outpatient service to be built at the Monash Medical Centre site in Clayton.

It says the project would cost $220 million.

The State Government says the plans will be considered but no decision has been made.

The director of Monash Children’s, Professor Nick Freezer says a new hospital is needed to keep up with demand in Melbourne’s south-east.

“As the population grows in the south-east the demand for paediatric services increases,” he said.

“We’re increasing at about 10 percent per annum and at the moment we just can’t continue to provide the services with the infrastructure we have in place.”

The Health Minister Daniel Andrews says the Government provided planning money for it four years ago.

“Monash does need bigger buildings, they need new buildings and we’re currently considering these matters as part of the budget,” he said.

“No decision has been made, and again, I strongly support new and bigger buildings for Monash given the number of children they already treat.”

The President of AMA Victoria, Dr Harry Hemley says a new hospital would help take the pressure off the Royal Children’s Hospital.

“We’re in the middle of a baby boom at the moment, so we really do need more paediatric and neonatal facilities, especially in the south-east where we’ve got a big population growth occurring down there now,” he said.

“This is a very interesting proposal and should really be considered seriously by the Government.”

The Opposition’s Health Spokesman, Davis Davis says there is an undeniable need for extra health services in Melbourne’s south-east.

“The Coalition supports a Monash Children’s in principal,” he said.

“There’s no doubt that this Government should have been building and should have been focusing on the needs and services for children in the south-east.”

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