By NICOLE VALICEK
THE 2013-14 State Budget has delivered very little for the western suburbs according to a number of politicians.
Williamstown state Labor MP Wade Noonan has slammed the “predictably disappointing” budget for favouring the eastern suburbs over the western suburbs.
“Quite frankly there are 1000 budget papers but you have to look long and hard to find anything that relates to the Williamstown electorate,” he said.
Mr Noonan said the budget contained no new funding to reduce congestion on roads and public transport, to improve local schools or prop up healthcare services.
“We, being the people of the west are being sadly let down by the Napthine government and the budget is the vehicle for letting people down,” he said.
Mr Noonan said this was despite the fact the western region was growing faster than any area in Victoria or around Australia.
“The time to invest in the west is now, not in 10 years.
“The so-called east-west link will come nowhere near the west. What’s proposed is to build a link between the Eastern Freeway and Citylink – not a second river crossing as Labor proposed to take pressure off the West Gate corridor.”
Mr Noon said his biggest disappointment was the removal of $40 million that the previous Labor Government allocated for the first stage of the truck action plan.
“This project will take $1 million trucks off residential streets in the inner west, primarily in the Williamstown electorate. The funding has been killed off this budget,” he said.
Member for Western Metropolitan Bernie Finn welcomed the budget investments in the western region.
A highlight for the west was $9.7 million for Western Region Health Centre to build a new dental clinic in Footscray.
Altona state Labor MP Jill Hennessy said the Napthine Government had blatantly skewed school maintenance funding towards schools in Liberal and National party electorates.
“The Government should be fixing schools that need fixing, not because they happen to be located in a Liberal or National party electorate,” she said.
She said not one cent of the $51.5 million announced by the government in April will be provided to local schools across the Altona District.
