AGRICULTURE and regional Victoria in general have labelled the Allan Labor government’s 2024 budget underwhelming, according to industry leaders and local politicians.
Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) president Emma Germano describes the budget as “a missed opportunity to invest in Victorian agriculture, drive productivity and propel Victoria’s economy”.
Birchip Cropping Group director, former VFF grains group president and Quambatook farmer Brett Hosking has labelled it as “frustrating neglect”.
And The Nationals leader and Member for Murray Plains, Peter Walsh, says Premier Jacinta Allan has slashed agriculture spending, adding: “It is now down a whopping 30 per cent on funding just two years ago”.
Ms Germano says regional Victorians have been watching the overspend on city-centric projects for too many years.
“We’re glad this has been reined in but we would have liked more money to be injected into regional Victoria, particularly in our crumbling road network – it’s been too long coming,” she says.
“While Premier Allan’s budget looks to be a reset for the state, there’s also a lack investment in our sector in the immediate future.
“Forecasts show state debt will soar to $188 billion in the next few years, so it’s clear we’ll be dealing with huge overhanging debt for some time.
“But Victorian farmers contribute more than $19 billion to the economy through our food and fibre production and we can do more – we just need the government to get behind us.”
Mr Hosking says with a new Premier, with a country background, the agriculture industry had been hoping for much more – hopes “that have now been dashed”.
“There are no two ways about it, we did not do well in this budget”.
And he says it’s not just the falling investment in agriculture that hurts, it’s also the “double whammy of not doing something drastic about our failing road network”.
“Yes, the farmers need the rods to be better, be safer, but so does all of regional Victoria, this is a community crisis because so many roads are simply not safe,” Mr Hosking says.
“We are seeing bad crashes, and fatalities, which might not have happened had our roads been better maintained.
“It leaves you feeling frustrated and helpless.
“It has been going on too long and something needs to give.
“The state debt is soaring but so is the cost of road repair, and the longer it takes, the worse the damage, the harder it is ever going to be for us to catch up with it.”
Mr Hosking says agriculture spending has been cut again as well.
He says that has been happening every year, yet he cannot recall when there has ever been a greater need for research and extension – especially as we deal with climate change – than now.
“On one hand the government is pulling money out of agriculture and rural and regional roads and at the same time wanting to run power lines all over the place as part of its renewable energy strategy,” Mr Hosking says.
“But it is doing nothing to help the largest custodians of land in the state: the farmers.
“We want to contribute to dealing with this change but the government wants to do nothing but cut investment – instead of supporting us it is saying groups such as BCG and Mallee Sustainable Farming, the farmers, can pick up the cost of research instead.”
Mr Walsh says the budget’s $496.6 million for agriculture does not even compare with the $687.3 million allocated in 2022-23.
And she says eve the previous total was “way too little even then”.
He describes agriculture as the lifeblood of so much of regional and rural Victoria and says government investment in this sector must be rising, not shrinking.
“Premier Allan must realise agriculture doesn’t just feed Victoria, it keeps regional Victoria afloat, it supports the many small and large towns scattered across the state, it drives innovation in food and fibre production, and it helps secure the long-term future of the state,” Mr Walsh says.
“And the message from Spring Street is that it is more important Melbourne commuters can cut 10- or 15-minutes’ driving time on their way to work – at a cost of billions and billions of dollars,” he says.
At the same time, Mr Walsh agrees with Ms Germano and Mr Hosking and says the 2024 Allan budget has condemned regional Victorian to more “road roulette” with even more massive spending cuts.
He says 16 per cent “has been ripped out of an already inadequate road maintenance fund” ensuring our roads will continue to not just get worse but get more dangerous.
“Regional Victoria is littered with black spots in urgent need of safety upgrades as well as repairs “and now that just isn’t going to happen”.
“Our regional road network is crumbling in front of our eyes – across northern Victoria that collapse has been accelerated by two, in some places three, massive flood events in the past decade,” Mr Walsh added.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan says her government’s budget is helping families get home safely.
Ms Allan says not only has the government invested in individual rail projects, it has also committed $133.4 million to further support the whole regional rail network – “with an extra $104 million to keep rail freight moving across Victoria”.
She says the budget also includes $62 million for upgrades to make regional roads safer, including upgrades to sections of the Princes, Western and Calder highways.
“Sadly, what were previously considered once-in-a-generation flood events are now commonplace,” Ms Allan says.”Not only are they bringing record rainfall, they are also inflicting unprecedented damage to our roads.
“We are helping regional and rural communities get back on their feet and repairing flood-impacted roads.
“The budget includes $964 million to maintain our state’s road network this coming year alone – including extra funding to clean up the damage from flooding.
“We’re investing an extra $100 million to repair our roads, including pavements, infrastructure and fixing landslips.”
In agriculture Ms Allan says the government spend includes another $85 million in the key area of biosecurity.
