Letter to the editor – Public housing and regional development going backwards

Tens of thousands of Victorians are being kept waiting for a secure place to call home while the Allan Labor Government dismisses concerns around our state’s stagnating public housing stock.

The recent State Budget cut $40 million for housing assistance housing initiatives and Labor’s record debt is set to reach $187.8 billion by 2028.

With the public housing waitlist at near record highs, there is no excuse to be cutting funding for housing support in Victoria.

Projects like the Benalla West development continue to see cost blowouts and delays, leaving locals in need without suitable housing.

Meanwhile, the Growing Suburbs Fund has been cut over numerous years, being reduced from $50 million to $10 million and then to $5 million in the last three budgets.

This lack of investment into the southern parts of the electorate like Kilmore and Broadford means these towns will keep missing out on many of the basic amenities Melburnians in established suburbs take for granted.

Victoria’s growth suburbs desperately need the infrastructure and services that their established counterparts already have, particularly when it comes to housing and schools.