Cost of living
What you should know: Families who send their children to Catholic or independent schools are not eligible for the $400 payments unless they have a concession card. Expect there to be fallout,given the cost of living is one of the biggest issues.
Families of school children will benefit most from the Victorian State Budget.
Infrastructure
What you should know:The government has started applying the brakes to its Big Build program. The hope is to allow the construction sector to focus on housing,but critics will say the government can’t manage major projects.
Housing
What you should know: First home buyers who were hoping Victoria would follow in NSW’s footsteps and trial a switch to residential land tax will be disappointed. There will also be increased pressure on the federal government to get its first home buyer scheme right.
Health
What you should know: The government is spruiking investments in three big-city hospital projects,including major upgrades to the Northern Hospital in Epping,which is getting a new emergency department,and the Monash and Austin hospitals. However,only a fraction of the money for the $1.6 billion required for the three projects will be delivered in the coming year.
Education
What you should know: Victoria now has more breathing room to address workforce challenges,but has potentially just pushed back the bottleneck unless it can train and retain more early childhood educators.
The economy
What you should know: Treasurer Tim Pallas has trumpeted the expected fall in net debt. But this turnaround is still several years away. Expect the Coalition to continue campaigning hard on Victoria’s debt.
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