NEW DEMOCRATS – NEW VOICE, NEW CHOICE
Improve Infrastructure and ensure that all regions are funded in accordance with population growth. We believe that funding should be provided proportionately and not based on marginal and target seats.
The Western Metropolitan Region is one of the fastest growing regions in Australia. With population growth there are many opportunities and challenges. If you plan accordingly, you can transform the challenges into opportunities and make the Western Suburbs a much better and safer place to live and work.
Investing in adequate infrastructure is the key. Whilst there has been some investment made in recent years, more must be done.
Investment in infrastructure should be based on population growth and not on political interests or to win over marginal and target seats.
The New Democrats call for more road infrastructure investment for the West. Additional infrastructure investment is essential to improve access and connectivity to the growing suburbs and communities of Melbourne’s West.
We will advocate for additional funding to:
- repair, resurface, expand and duplicate our ageing roads
- eliminate bottlenecks
- improve dangerous intersections
- provide better links to major roads such as the Western Highway and Princess Freeway
- install traffic lights or roundabouts in key areas to provide better flowing traffic for our residents
These investments will increase productivity and efficiency and will create local jobs and support our local economy.
Provide more funds for our health providers and hospitals
The New Democrats will advocate for more investment and support for our Health and Hospital System.
The New Democrats believe that additional funding and solutions are needed to:
- Immediately reduce the growing elective surgery waiting list in our state;
- Repair the 000 Ambulance Crisis to eliminate avoidable deaths; and,
- Manage worker shortages in our Hospitals and Healthcare providers to give the staff a better and safer workplace they deserve and the patients the best care they can receive.
The New Democrats believe that whilst the proposed hospital in Melton, the construction of the new Footscray Hospital and the expansion of the Sunshine Hospital will provide some relief to residents of the Western Metropolitan Region, it will not be enough to meet the growing needs of the region.
To provide families and residents across Melbourne’s growing west with the healthcare they need and deserve, we will advocate for another hospital to be built in the Wyndham area as a priority to support residents in our growing communities.
Invest more in local jobs and provide more support for our local businesses
The New Democrats will advocate for more government investment to support local jobs and our local businesses.
The New Democrats believe that this can be achieved with providing:
- Incentives and Tax cuts
- Provide support during setup phase
- Promote buying local
- Ensure Government Departments and Agencies only use local suppliers
- Offer more funding and grants in research and development
- Assist with setting up local business networks
- Connecting local workplaces and businesses with local education providers by building a graduate program that offers incentives
To create more local jobs, the New Democrats propose that for any government infrastructure projects, there should be a special condition requiring a minimum proportion/amount of workers being local.
Reduce cost of living pressures
The New Democrats know that individuals and families are doing it tough with the increase in the cost of living in Victoria.
The New Democrats believe that the Government needs to do more to ease the pressure.
This can be achieved by:
- Providing local alternatives that reduce commuting/fuel costs
- Increasing support and promoting the use of solar panels to reduce power costs
- Manufacturing locally made solar batteries and reduce the cost of installing solar batteries
- Providing better connections to public transport hubs and providing reduced fares
Build more schools, particularly secondary schools based on population and suburb growth
More and more families are calling Melbourne’s Western Suburbs their home.
The Western Suburbs of Melbourne is one of the fastest growing regions in Victoria.
Our children are our future yet our schools are not keeping up with the demand and population growth.
Schools in the West are over-populated and under-staffed.
Suburbs like Williams Landing have many young and multicultural families. Currently the increasing population of Williams Landing is continuing to put pressure on the schools of surrounding suburbs in the inner west.
Parents in Williams Landing have to send their kids to Truganina, Laverton, Point Cook or Seabrook for education.
New schools are being built in the surrounding suburbs, however, this does not resolve the problems being faced by the residents of Williams Landing.
Education is a right for every student, and the Victorian government has a duty to provide access to schools for all students in Victoria.
Similar challenges are occurring in other parts of the growing suburbs in the West.
We also believe more needs to be done to support struggling students as a result of the interruption to learning caused by the pandemic and lockdowns. More funding is needed to employ additional teachers and aids in classrooms to support students with their learning challenges.
Provide more support for families and our elderly
The New Democrats will work with all parties in Parliament to ensure that we continue to offer more support to families and our elderly. We believe that the residents of the West should receive their fair share in investment.
We believe that families should continue to be supported by offering more affordable and accessible childcare services.
We believe that additional investment is needed to ensure that the residents of the Western Metropolitan Region continue to receive the important care that they need.
We also support additional funding to assist families with special needs.
Invest more in support services that works to end domestic violence
The New Democrats will work with all parties in Parliament to ensure that we continue to deliver on the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Family Violence.
We welcome the investment to fund family violence refuges, build and operate new women’s refuges, upgrade existing partner agency-operated facilities and purchase new crisis accommodation properties to support victim survivors.
We also welcome the boost to crisis services, the additional support to behaviour change programs and the expansion to the information services.
However, we strongly believe that additional support should be provided to educate families from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities to assist with spreading the message and promoting the support programs into their communities.
We also believe that more can be done to assist with providing culturally sensitive services to victim survivors.
Invest more in protecting our environment
The New Democrats will support all parties in Parliament that promote policies that assist with making our cities greener, cleaner, environmentally friendly and safer to live in.
We will hold the Government of the day to account to ensure necessary investment is provided to the West to ensure we contribute to urban cooling.
According to figures provided by RMIT University et al for the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), in 2018 the western region had the lowest tree canopy cover in Melbourne.
Urban development that results in the loss of trees and vegetation causes average temperatures in these areas to increase.
This is known as the urban heat island effect, which impacts the health of both people and animals.
During this period the Western Region had 5.5% urban tree cover compared to the Eastern Regions 25.9% urban tree cover and the Inner South East Regions 17.4% urban tree cover.
Whilst the Government has announced the More Trees for a Cooler, Greener West Program, we believe the West deserves better and must receive additional funding to plant more trees and preserve open spaces.
Offer additional funding support to end homelessness
The New Democrats believe that every Victorian deserves to have a roof over their head and should have access to a safe and secure home.
We support building more social housing and believe that more investment is needed to support prevention programs of homelessness.
Investment for early intervention is necessary to prevent homelessness before it even happens.
The New Democrats will continue to advocate for more social housing to be built to ensure that residents of the West have access to a safe secure accommodation.
Fight to end racial and religious discrimination
There is no place for racial or religious discrimination in any community.
Many people from all around the world have called Victoria home. They have brought with them their experiences, culture, religious beliefs and their history and heritage.
Victoria needs to remain a place where individuals and communities can freely practice their religion and culture.
The New Democrats will continue to advocate for more support and funding to ensure we keep our communities safe from racial and religious discrimination.
We will work closely with all communities and individuals, regardless of what religion or ethnicity they are from. We will work hard to support Victoria to remain a socially cohesive state.
Offer additional funding and culturally appropriate support services for our diverse Communities
Victoria is home to one of the most culturally diverse societies and is also among the fastest-growing and most diverse states in Australia.
Multiculturalism is a core part of the Victorian identity, our character and way of life.
The New Democrats will advocate for additional funding and support to ensure culturally appropriate support services are available for our diverse communities.
We will seek additional funding to be provided to multicultural community groups for them to continue to support their communities with their resettlement in Australia.
We will advocate on behalf of the various multicultural communities to ensure additional funding is available for community groups to build their own community facilities.
We will work hard to ensure that more funding is available for new and emerging community groups in the Western Metropolitan Region.
Increase funding for our integrity agencies to ensure that investigations take place in a timely manner
During the term of 59th Parliament in Victoria, we saw a number of investigations conducted by the Victorian Ombudsman and the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission.
There are a number of investigations currently still pending a final report.
Funding cuts and reduction in resources have played a role in the delay of important investigations being finalised before the November 26 State Elections.
The New Democrats will support an increase in funding to allow our integrity agencies to conduct their investigations in a timely manner.
The New Democrats also believe that investigations need to be finalised before the beginning of the polls to allow voters to make informed decisions at the elections.