GETTING THINGS DONE FOR YUROKE

The Victorian Budget 2018/19 will deliver new skills, good jobs, more schools and better roads for every Victorian.

Yuroke residents will get home sooner thanks to upgrades to Craigieburn Road, part of a massive $2.2 billion Suburban Roads Upgrade investment.

The work will duplicate a 5.5km stretch of Craigieburn Road, between Mickleham Road and Hume Highway, doubling the current two lanes to four lanes, and upgrading intersections.

Local commuters will also find it easier to get a parking spot at Craigieburn train station, with 745 extra parking spaces created, thanks to a $60 million Budget boost from the Andrews Labor Government.

Emergency services workers and volunteers in Yuroke will get the equipment and facilities they need to keep Victorians safe, with $13 million to redevelop the Craigieburn Fire Station.

Local families will have good schools close to home, with nearly $1.3 billion invested in schools around the state.

This includes building and planning 28 new schools, and upgrading 130 existing schools, with funds to acquire land for the Merrifield West Primary School.

This year’s Budget also includes $24m to build Craigieburn South Secondary School, to open in January 2020. This school will be built for 1,200 students, meeting the demands of a growing population.

A further $3 million will go towards modernising facilities at Roxburgh College and $6.8 million for the construction of Stage 2 of Aitken Hill Primary School.

Building on funding delivered in last year’s Budget, this boost will ensure the school is ready to open its doors for the start of the 2019 school year.

Cost should never stop someone from learning new skills, that’s why this year’s Budget includes $172 million to make priority TAFE courses free, giving more Yuroke residents the chance to be able to train at TAFE and get the right skills they need for a good job.

30 priority TAFE courses and 18 pre-apprenticeship courses will be made free, while more than 30,000 new TAFE places will be funded across the state.

More local students will also be able to finish school qualified and ready to work, with the introduction of Head Start Apprenticeships and Traineeships in 100 secondary schools.

It means kids in our community will have the option to undertake an additional year of high school, and graduate with an apprenticeship or traineeship, ready to start work in a good job.

Yuroke students will also get expert advice to help them make the right career choices, with career education in schools to be overhauled across the state and start from Year 9.

Yuroke locals will be able to choose their own local funding priorities, thanks to a new community building fund.

A new fund, Pick My Project, will be backed by $30 million from this year’s Budget, and will see local residents nominate, and then vote for, the best way to improve our community.

This is a Labor Budget that delivers on the things matter most to our state. This is a Budget that gets things done.

Quotes attributable to Member for Ros Spence

“Duplicating that section of Craigieburn Road will see local people get home sooner. It’s an investment that will make a real difference to local families.”

“Our new schools are much more than just an investment in new classrooms – it’s an investment in our kids’ future.”

“Over 16,000 Yuroke residents have a TAFE qualification and I am thrilled that thousands more will benefit from free TAFE courses.”

“This is a budget that supports education, infrastructure and really importantly it supports jobs.”