Media Release - Budget Relief Welcome, but Peri Urban Communities Needed Real Investment for Growth

Photo credit: Wongm's Rail Gallery

Peri Urban Councils Victoria (PUCV) has welcomed cost-of-living relief measures in the Victorian budget, but states investment needed to unlock housing and support fast-growing peri-urban communities fell well short of what is required.

PUCV Chair, Cr Moira Berry said household relief was important, particularly following yesterday’s interest rate rise, but relief was only effective when fair and equitable.

“Cost-of-living relief matters, especially for families under growing financial pressure,” Cr Berry said.

“But relief only works if communities can access that support, in peri urban communities this means access to a reliable and connected bus to a train, a home they can afford, a place in a local school, nearby health care and dependable digital connectivity,” Cr Berry said.

“For too many living in a peri-urban community, those basics are still missing.” She said.

PUCV have been advocating in the lead up to the budget that Victoria cannot meet its housing challenge without investing properly in the areas taking on much of the state’s growth.

“You cannot solve the housing crisis by approving homes alone, you need the infrastructure that gets homes built, and the services that make communities liveable,” she said.

The Budget included some measures that start to meet this objective including:

• More investment into regional roads;

• Additional Wyndham Vale line services;

• Planning funding to electricfy the Melton line;

• Improved bus services for Bass Coast; and

• Housing-enabling infrastructure for regional Victoria.

“These are positive steps, but the total funding allocated for housing enabling infrastructure could be used in peri urban communities alone, let alone across the whole of regional Victoria,” Cr Berry said.

“Peri-urban communities are being asked to help carry Victoria’s housing response, but this Budget does not give them the investment needed to do it properly.”

PUCV will continue to advocate for sustained and appropriate investment in the following areas:

• Enabling infrastructure to unlock housing sooner, including funding that helps councils deliver roads, drainage, community facilities to support growth that is occurring today.

• Digital connectivity that treats reliable mobile and internet coverage as essential infrastructure, including action on peri-urban “grey spots” where coverage exists on paper but is unreliable in practice. 

• Better public transport for fast-growing communities, including more frequent and better-connected bus services, improved bus links to trains, expanded coverage and flexible transport options. 

• Liveable, connected communities with the infrastructure and services to build liveable communities such as libraries, community centres and sporting amenities.

“This Budget recognises parts of the problem, but it does not meet the scale of the challenge. Victoria will not solve its housing crisis without investing properly in peri-urban communities,” Cr Berry concluded.

Key Budget Announcements

Roads 

Peri-Urban Regions

• Planning funding for upgrades to Princes Highway East/Davey Drive/Waterloo Road in Trafalgar. 

• Funding to improve roads and bridges in regional Victoria including rehabilitation of the San Remo Bridge (continuation of 25/26 budget).

Statewide

• $1.04 billion to rebuild, repair and resurface roads across Victoria with with 70% of the funds going to the regions.

Schools

Peri-Urban Regions

• $6.96 million to upgrade Warragul North Primary School.

• $19.5 million for Bacchus Marsh College modernatisation to upgrade existing school facilities.

Transport

Peri-Urban Regions

• $152.7 million in planning funding to electrify the Melton line.

• Additional services on the Wyndham Vale line.

• Improved bus services in Cowes.

Statewide

• $7.1 million – Improvements to public and active transport connections and safety across the network (statewide, including regional areas)

• A 20% rebate on registration costs of up to $186 for people with one car and $372 for people with two cars.

• Halving the price of public transport until 1 January 2027.

Regional Health

Per-Urban Regions

• $65 million in upgrades to the exisitng West Gippsland Hospital and the Wonthaggi Hospital.

• Funding for the second stage of the Phillip Island Community Hospital.

• Continued funding for an Urgent Care Clinic in Baw Baw.

• Funding for a Women's Health Clinic in Bacchus Marsh.

Housing

Statewide

• $860 million across the state for 7,000 additional social housing homes over the next decade.

• $88 million for housing enabling infrastructure to increase housing supply by 1300 houses in regional Victoria.