Regional home buyers boost headlines country budget

Buying a home in regional Victoria will become more attractive than ever thanks to an additional $3000 bonus for first home buyers in this year’s State Budget.

Treasurer John Lenders said the $3000 bonus was on top of the Victorian Government funded $7000 First Home Owners Grant and the $5000 First Home Bonus for newly constructed homes.

“Families buying their first home in regional Victorians can receive up to $15,000 in Government incentives,” Mr Lenders said.

“The Brumby Labor Government is committed to growing Victoria’s regions and this grant will encourage many young families to buy a new home in regional Victoria.

“Our Government’s investment in regional Victoria over the past eight years has made our great provincial cities and rural towns more attractive for young families. This new $3000 bonus will mean more young families will choose to live in regional and rural Victoria.”

For example, a person buying a house and land package in Bendigo prior to construction worth $260,000 with land worth $115,000 would attract only $2510 in stamp duty and will receive $15,000 in Government support up front.

All Victorians buying their first home will be able to enjoy the lower principal place of residence stamp duty rates on top of the First Home Bonus for the first time.

Mr Lenders said education continued to be the Brumby Labor Government’s number one priority and more than $150 million had been allocated for capital works in regional Victoria’s education and TAFE system including:

• $39 million to modernise nine schools in regional Victoria – Bacchus Marsh PS, Chaffey SC, Colac South West PS, Daylesford SC, Koroit and District PS, Lara SC, Maffra SC, Wangaratta West PS and Wodonga PS;
• $19 million to build three new replacement schools at Anglesea PS, Bass Coast Specialist School and Wodonga South PS;
• $16 million to the Secure the Future of Small Rural Schools program, replacing relocatable buildings at the following country primary schools – Alberton; Buln Buln; Darnum; Eagle Point; Grahamvale; Horsham West – Haven (Haven campus); Woady Yaloak – Snake Valley campus; Newham;
• $8 million would go towards completing Stage 3 of Wallan SC, ensuring local students and teachers have the best facilities to meet their needs; and
• $49.1 million for school regeneration programs in Colac and Bendigo.
• Mr Lenders said regional Victoria’s health system would receive a capital works boost worth more than $130 million to improve regional Victoria’s hospitals and health system including:
• $70.1 million for the second phase of South West Healthcare’s Warrnambool Hospital redevelopment. Funding includes a new inpatients’ building and associated facilities;
• $9.5 million to redevelop the Bendigo Hospital emergency department to provide an eight-bed short-stay unit to better manage patients requiring stays of less than 24 hours;
• $1 million for detailed design work for the Alexandra District Hospital redevelopment, which will deliver an entirely new integrated hospital and community health service;
• $21 million for a new Latrobe Community Health Service building in Morwell, including new offices, consulting rooms and facilities for allied health such as alcohol and drug services, counselling, physiotherapy, district nursing, palliative care and five new dental chairs;
• $5.5 million to reconfigure the mental health Adult Acute Unit at Ballarat Hospital to improve access and client amenity and to refurbish Ballarat’s Queen Victoria building to accommodate Community Mental Health facilities;
• $13.6 million to the Bendigo Residential Aged Care Facility to replace Bendigo Health’s outdated Stella Anderson Nursing Home, with a new, 60-bed facility with better environmental amenity, comfort, safety, security and privacy for residents and staff; and
• $8 million to Hepburn Health Service’s Trentham Campus for the redevelopment of 15 high-care residential aged care beds and primary care services, refurbishment of the low-care facility, a new medical consulting suite, emergency stabilisation area, primary care and community activity centre, and support areas.

“The State Budget also provides funding of $11.4 million to improve dental health in rural and regional Victoria and reduce avoidable dental treatment, especially in children,” Mr Lenders said.

Regional Victoria’s roads, rail, freight and bus networks would also receive a boost through an extra $755.6 million to help regional Victorians and freight get to their destinations quickly and safely including:

• $110 million towards the duplication of the Princes Highway West from Waurn Ponds to Winchelsea to cater for increased car and truck travel, and improve travel time and reliability;
• $9 million towards the Yarra Glen Truck Bypass – a $15 million project with a $5.5 million contribution from the Federal Government and $500,000 from the Yarra Ranges Shire Council;
• $40 million to build a new duplicated section of the Western Hwy from Melton to Bacchus Marsh to improve safety and travel times;
• $239.8 million in freight and port access projects, including the Channel Deepening project;
• $22.6 million for maintenance and operation of new V’Locity train carriages; and
• Maintenance on country rail lines will also benefit from $254.5 million, including $7.4 million for Bendigo Corridor Safety Improvements.

Other highlights of this year’s budget for Victoria include:

• the previously announced $161.9 million for non-freight-related initiatives in the Brumby Labor Government’s Farmer’s Statement, which will boost farming services, drive growth and innovation in agriculture and help the sector respond to the challenges of the future;
• $60 million to upgrade 300 bridges in Victorian parks and reserves;
• $12.8 million radio replacement program that will replace more than 10,400 of the CFA’s emergency hand held and vehicle radios;
• $4.6 million for technical rescue vehicles and new fire trucks with hydraulic platform ladders;
• $13.3 million over four years to the tourism sector in regional Victoria, creating jobs and injecting millions of dollars into regional economies;
• a major new 350-bed upgrade at the existing Ararat Prison site creating 100 new jobs; and
• Funding for $865 million worth of key water projects across Victoria as part of the Brumby Labor Government’s $4.9 billion water infrastructure plan to secure the State’s water.