It is a pleasure to rise and have an opportunity to speak about this budget from this year and what it means for the Bellarine electorate. As a fairly new member to this place, being elected in 2022, this is the second budget that I have experienced in this place, and it really is a privilege to represent the Bellarine electorate. Not only is it beautiful in its landscape – it is a beautiful area – but it has a really strong sense of community as well, so it is a privilege to do this role. In doing this role I work extremely hard every day, whether it is meeting constituents, stakeholders or community groups to understand the work that they are doing or assisting people with many of their state issues. It is a real privilege. I meet many members of the community who are also big advocates for their work and for their passions and the projects they are undertaking, all for the betterment of our community. I am really fortunate and appreciative of the level of engagement that the Bellarine community constituents have with me – they understand their towns, they understand their priorities and what is important to them.

In doing this role I confidently say that this government and previous Labor governments have invested heavily into the Bellarine electorate, but when you are in government you realise and know that there is always more to do. That is what budgets do. They not only direct funds to projects but also demonstrate our values and our priorities. Being a regional MP, though, it is really important to me that our economy works in our regions. In the Bellarine we have a really strong tourism and visitor economy, and our Victorian regional unemployment rate does remain still below the national average, which is an incredible achievement, at a low 3.7 per cent, and Geelong is at 3.5 per cent. In the nearly 10 years since the Labor government was elected, over $45 billion has been directly invested into regional Victoria, an average of $4.5 billion a year. In the four years prior to that, only $7.2 billion was invested – that is only $1.8 billion per year, and I think that is a stark contrast that we can see. We do invest heavily in our regions.

Visitor expenditure in Victoria also hit a record high of $37.8 billion in the year ending in December 2023, and thanks to that strong investment in our economy and our major events calendar, events in Geelong and the Bellarine are also particularly strong. We are booming, with around $13.2 billion in major projects completed or underway or in the pipeline. It is absolutely incredible, the things that are happening in the Geelong region. The member for Narracan was talking about cranes. We have plenty of cranes in the sky, particularly the one at the convention centre at the moment for an absolutely terrific project that is underway in Geelong. It is going to see a real benefit to our region.

This budget has been really important for the Bellarine electorate as well, and there are a couple of projects I would like to highlight in particular that were earmarked in this last budget. One of them was a community farm called Farm My School that is at an old soccer pitch at Bellarine Secondary College. They have turned an old soccer pitch into a working farm – it is absolutely incredible. They are growing their own food and produce, they have a vineyard and they are wanting to do an orchard soon, and they are not only using that food to feed the Bellarine community – you can get veggie boxes delivered to your door or pick up a veggie box – but also using it in the canteen and in their food technology space at the school. What is really exciting about that project is that it is giving opportunities for students to learn horticultural and farming practices and have a pathway to a career maybe in that field. I have had the Treasurer visit; I have had Premier visit recently as well to see that amazing work that they are doing. They are creating a really diverse opportunity for students.

In another really exciting project at that site they have Deakin University now looking at the link between growing food and actually getting your hands dirty – so students getting into the dirt and growing the food – and what that means for what they call biomes, which is your gut health. They are eating the food that they grow, and they are going to look at the link between that and anxiety and depression and general mental health and wellbeing. It is a really exciting project. I look forward to seeing what the results show. Already early research is showing you are what you eat – we know that, but it is showing that link between your gut health and your mental health. So that will be an exciting project happening at Farm My School, which we proudly had investment for in this last budget.

Speaking of keeping active and healthy, this budget is also investing $6 million to extend our Get Active Kids vouchers, and that is the voucher that helps eligible families with the costs of sporting club rego, uniforms and equipment to participate in sport in their local communities. It is a fantastic initiative that really stops any barriers to families and children participating in sport. I know it makes a huge difference to families of the Bellarine. Particularly I know uniforms, boots and equipment can be expensive, and it is really important that we remove those barriers for families.

Another exciting project that was in this last budget was funding to support the Portarlington ferry service, and that is a service that is from Portarlington over to Docklands. It is an absolutely incredible link that we have from the Bellarine, not only for those local commuters that like to travel to work from Portarlington to Melbourne, but it also really supports the tourism and the regional jobs that we have on the Bellarine. So many tourists come from Melbourne over to the Bellarine to experience our wineries, beaches, distilleries, cafes, food and shopping, and it is an absolutely convenient and very pleasurable alternative way to visit our electorate. I was really pleased to see further funding in the budget for the Portarlington ferry. It is important to our local economy.

We have continued to also support food relief across our state and particularly for the Geelong and Bellarine region. We know that the cost of living is really an issue for families at the moment, and we should not have people worrying about putting food on their table, and that is why we have invested in supporting organisations that deliver food relief. Funding will be distributed to six of the regional food hubs, and that includes the Geelong region. I am really excited also to see that additional funding of $2.5 million for neighbourhood houses and $2 million to invest into organisations at a local level, and they will be able to apply for grants to support the food relief that they are delivering. I often speak to an organisation called Feed Me Bellarine that assists families in my electorate with food relief, and they are very excited to be able to apply for this type of funding and receive support for the good work that they do across the Bellarine.

This budget particularly is really important for the Bellarine. It is only one budget that I speak about today, but it is about building on previous budgets that really show our values and show the important agenda that this Allan Labor government has set for this state. I am really proud to be able to represent the Bellarine and support our communities.