The Morrison Government’s Economic Recovery Plan for Australia will create jobs, rebuild our economy and secure Australia’s future, including in Victoria.
Under our plan, around 3 million taxpayers in Victoria will receive tax relief for the 2020-21 financial year, with 2.6 million taxpayers to receive up to $1,080 for lower and middle income earners, and $2,160 for dual income families.
“This means more money in the pockets of local households to assist with the cost of living, but also to help generate economic activity and create jobs”, Senator Henderson said.
The Budget announcements build on the Morrison Government’s unprecedented investment in the health and economic response to COVID-19.
By bringing the Budget back to balance for the first time in 11 years and maintaining our AAA credit rating we entered the crisis from a position of economic strength, providing us with the fiscal firepower to respond when we needed it most.
Since the onset of the pandemic, the Government has provided $257 billion in direct economic support to cushion the blow and strengthen the recovery. This includes $17 billion in JobKeeper payments and $7 billion in cash flow boost credit amounts to Victorian residents and entities.
The 2020-21 Budget commits a further $98 billion nationally including: $25 billion in direct COVID-19 response measures and $74 billion in new measures to create jobs.
“We’re supporting Victorians to get back to work and businesses to rebuild, grow, and create jobs”, Senator Henderson said.
The JobMaker Hiring Credit will be payable immediately to employers who hire eligible employees.
This Budget is investing a record amount in skills and training to make sure Victorian job seekers have the skills they need to get a job.
Senator Henderson said: “We are also further assisting first home buyers and the construction sector by extending the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme to another 10,000 places and providing an additional $1 billion of low cost finance to support the construction of affordable housing”.
The Morrison Government is investing in our sovereign manufacturing capability to ensure we have an internationally competitive and resilient manufacturing sector, and in the process create more high value jobs”.
Further, our incentives for businesses to invest in their business will create more economic activity and jobs in the community.
Tax relief for Victorian businesses includes allowing 99 per cent of businesses to deduct the full cost of depreciable assets in the year they are installed, and allowing companies with a turnover of up to $5 billion to offset losses against previous profits on which tax has been paid to generate a refund.
“We will also simplify access to credit for households and small businesses, to support the economic recovery”, Senator Henderson said.
The Morrison Government is also delivering record infrastructure investment, expanding our record 10 year infrastructure pipeline to $110 billion, and supporting a further 40,000 jobs nationally. The Budget also includes a $2 billion investment in road safety upgrades to save lives and an additional $1 billion to support local councils to immediately upgrade local roads, footpaths and street lighting to create jobs now.
This investment, along with the Building Better Regions Fund, will deliver significant funding opportunities for regional Victoria.
Budget delivers key infrastructure projects for Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong regions
The Budget includes $1.1 billion in new funding to fast track shovel-ready Victorian infrastructure projects, supporting almost 4,000 jobs, including:
• $292 million to duplicate Barwon Heads Road from Settlement Road to Reserve Road including a new bridge over the railway line at Marshall, creating 292 jobs;
• $208 million for upgrades to the Warrnambool Line which will deliver track works to improve the ride quality, reliability and resilience of the line for passenger and freight rail services and ensure it is ready for the introduction of VLocity-class trains, creating 640 jobs;
• $30 million to support planning for the extension of the Melbourne electrified network to Wyndham Vale on the Geelong Line and Melton on the Ballarat Line;
$605 million will also be brought into the forward estimates for the accelerated planning and delivery of stage 2 and 3 of the Geelong rail duplication between Waurn Ponds and South Geelong, delivering 1,300 direct and indirect jobs as well as faster and more reliable passenger rail services.
The Budget also delivers continuing investment for major projects which are benefiting the Ballarat and Bendigo electorates including:
• Murray Basin Freight Rail Project: $20.2 million
• Wendouree Station – local traffic calming: $900,000
• Ballarat Rail Line Upgrade Stage 1: $37.9 million
• Pedestrian and Safer Schools upgrades $5.6 million
• Western Freeway between Woodmans Hill to Dowling Road, Miners Rest Safety Improvements $6.8 million
• Western Freeway realignment at Pykes Creek (Ballarat bound) $3 million
• Bendigo/Echuca Rail Line Upgrade: $39.7 million
• Major roads: Ballarat to Ouyen – $800,000 and Melbourne to Mildura: $1.4 million
7 October 2020