Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell has called on the Victorian Government to fund four major projects in its May 23 budget.
Ms Lovell said the Shepparton bypass, the second stage of the Goulburn Valley Health redevelopment, a new clinical health school and safety improvements at Kialla West Primary School were her priorities to have funded.
Ms Lovell said the October 2022 floods showed how crucial a second river crossing was after the Peter Ross-Edwards Causeway was closed, cutting off Shepparton from Mooroopna.
“The Shepparton bypass project, including the delivery of the second river crossing, is the community’s number one infrastructure priority,” Ms Lovell said.
“In the wake of the floods, the treasurer should see the importance of the project and provide funding in the state budget.”
Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas called the opening of the emergency department in Shepparton in March the “final stage” of the GV Health redevelopment, but the health service’s masterplan calls for a second stage of funding and upgrades.
Ms Lovell said stage two had to be funded and completed to “provide additional healthcare infrastructure and capacity that is badly needed in the community”.
Likewise, Ms Lovell said a chronic shortage of workers at GV Health also needed to be addressed through the funding of a clinical health school in Shepparton.
Ms Lovell also renewed calls she has been making since 2018 to upgrade the pedestrian crossing at Kialla West Primary School, with a serious accident five years ago showing the risk to students and children.
She said the budget was the right time for the government to invest in a pedestrian underpass to ensure student safety at the crossing.
“These are just some of the important infrastructure projects needed in the region, and I call on the treasurer to ensure the budget delivers the funding required to make them a reality,” Ms Lovell said.