By Ethan Benedicto
Despite the major boost in education, with more funding and new institutions announced for the City of Casey, key pieces of infrastructure are still in the unknown following the most recent State Budget.
Announced on Tuesday 7 May, no additional information is available for the Clyde North police station on the budget papers, despite the $47 million and $63 million estimated investments into critical police infrastructure and the delivery of new police stations respectively.
Berwick MP Brad Battin voiced his displeasure of the budget, calling its allocation as “typical Labor”.
“You know Victoria is broke when Labor cannot deliver again on the urgently needed Clyde North police station, [it’s] delivery is critical and Labor must say when the funding will be allocated for its build and when shovels will be in the ground,” Mr Battin said.
Victoria Police has been working on finding a suitable site for the Clyde North station since receiving funding through the 2020-21 budget.
A Victorian Government spokesperson said that “we are delivering a state-of-the-art police station in Clyde North, located on the corner of Newgrange Boulevard and Matterhorn Drive”.
“Due to specific site requirements and the shortage of suitable sites in Clyde North, this process has taken longer than anticipated [and] we are working hard to deliver this project as quickly as possible,” they said.
As part of additional investment towards VicPol, the Dandenong Division, which also services Clyde North, received an additional 225 sworn police officers, including 33 family violence specialist police.
Works for the Clyde North station are expected to begin in the coming months, with the spokesperson saying that in the meantime, “Clyde North is well serviced by existing police resources in the area, including the 24-hour Cranbourne Police Station”.
Likewise, progress on the Thompsons Road roundabout changes are still in the dark; considering this, currently a total of $121.4 million is estimated to be invested into metropolitan road and intersection upgrades, with a $43 million estimated expenditure leading into 30 June this year.
A total of approximately $2.5 billion is being invested into the suburban roads upgrade, which includes northern and south eastern regions, with $2.3 billion of estimated expenditure going into 30 June.
“Every person who travels around Clyde North knows there is a problem, except it seems Labor, who are in no hurry to get started on the Thompsons Road upgrade to get [people] home sooner.
“If Labor had one local MP that actually lived in Casey, they would understand the daily gridlock faced by locals at the Thompsons Road intersection, then it would be delivered faster I am confident,” Mr Battin said.
Casey’s chair of administrators Noelene Duff shares a similar sentiment on the project, saying that “it is well understood that Thompsons Road is under-developed and unfit for our growing population”.
“The upgrade and extension is one of the region’s highest transport priorities and a project that council will continue to advocate for.
“This project is crucial for our expanding region, and we will continue to call on the Victorian Government for a delivery plan to see it complete,” Ms Duff said.
In a general critique of the budget, Mr Battin highlighted the overall debt accumulated by the Labor government, saying that “when they run out of money, they come after yours and that is exactly what Labor has shown in this year’s budget”.
Treasurer Tim Pallas said during his speech prior to the budget’s release on 7 May that in response to the capacity constraints in the economy and inflation, “stabilising, then reducing, net debt to GSP (Gross State Product) [is] in line with our strategy”.
“The government is forecasting operating surpluses of $1.5 billion in 2025-26 and $1.6 billion in 2026-27, an improvement from the 2023-24 Budget Update.
“As a proportion of GSP, net debt is projected to be 24.4 per cent in June 2025 before reaching 25.2 per cent in 2026-27 and then declining to 25.2 per cent in 2027-28,” Mr Pallas said.
Mr Battin highlighted in his statement that state debt is peaking at $190 billion; accounting firm PWC detailed that net debt is projected to be $156.2 billion by June 2025 and is predicted to increase to $187.8 billion by June 2028.
Further information from PWC also stated that the budget has a focus on reducing and stabilising the net debt to GSP ratio through measured investments, through education, healthcare, housing and transport.
“This updated fiscal strategy is right for our times – with a firm focus on driving new growth across our state, while also acting to reduce debt.
“To put this into perspective, our economy is worth about $600 billion today, but by the end of the forward estimates it will be worth nearly three quarters of a trillion dollars – the strength of this growth is helping drive a reduction in net debt to GSP,” Mr Pallas said.
As it stands, local residents are still waiting for further updates on the Thompsons Road roundabout, with hopes that a sooner than later construction process would quell the ongoing traffic difficulties.
