State budget offers support to young families but stings elsewhere

Hume City Council welcomes the cost-of-living relief provided in the Victorian Budget 2024/25 and the focus on managing State debt, which directly impacts local households. 

As a rapidly growing municipality with many young families, we appreciate the budget measures supporting their well-being, including the $400 school year bonus, free eye-care for children and the Active Kids program. 

We are also pleased to see our advocacy regarding improved educational infrastructure has been realised through commitments for the funding of the Sunbury TAFE, Mickleham South Primary School, and various school facility upgrades. 

We await further details on changes to the free kindergarten services delivery model and how the adjustments will impact access to early education in our fastly growing communities.  

Reductions in the Growing Suburbs Fund, which has previously supported vital projects in Hume, is a concern, as it will limit the ability for Council to co-fund and partner with the State Government in delivering timely community infrastructure. 

We understand the difficult decisions the Allan Labor Government has made in delaying the Airport Rail Link’s construction. However, we believe this project is crucial for Melbourne's north, employment and transport and we will continue our advocacy for this to be a top priority for future funding. 

The decision to increase the waste levy and Fire Services Levy are of concern to our Council, and the impact these costs will have on working class households across our community. The increased waste levy may exacerbate issues like illegal dumping, which already poses challenges to our community. 

Hume, and many local council areas, are already under siege from commercial scale illegal dumping, and we fear that the increased waste levy for tip usage will worsen this problem. 

Added to this, an increased Fire Services Levy that will support the delivery of state firefighting resources is understandable but challenging for households in the current climate. 

Hume City Council will meet with northern council partners in the coming days to discuss a regional taskforce regarding budgetary issues, particularly on the waste charge and the affect it is having on illegal dumping. 

Quotes attributable to Hume City Mayor Cr Naim Kurt: 

"As Mayor of Hume, I extend our gratitude to the State Government for their commitment to education and school funding, ensuring our growing community has access to the best learning facilities."  

"We are disappointed by the continued cuts to the Growing Suburbs Fund, as it jeopardises the ability for us to partner and deliver much needed community infrastructure for our growing communities” 

"The significant increase in the waste levy over the past four years, now at 150%, poses a burden on ratepayers and exacerbates issues like illegal and commercial-scale dumping across Hume, we need to reassess the program's effectiveness in waste reduction."