By Neeraj Nanda
MELBOURNE, 10 May: Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews today came down heavily on the opposition for talking around about the ‘law and order’ situation in the state. The latest budget, he said, has more money for more police and the last two crime statistics show “we are turning it around”.
Answering to a pointed question during a budget briefing at the Parliament House today by SAT, the Victorian Premier said the opposition’s talk on the subject was “totally cheap” as “we inherited a mess” but have given more resources for special firearms, more drug tests and all support to the Police Commissioner.
“9,300 applications had recently applied for positions in the Victoria Police,” he disclosed.
MULTICULTURAL FUNDING
Addressing the media, Multicultural Minister Robin Scott said, “Culturally diverse communities in Victoria will benefit from a record boost of $43.6 million in multicultural funding, as part of this year’s Victorian Budget.”
“The funding will ensure every Victorian has the opportunity to celebrate our state’s rich cultural diversity, “said Minister Scott.
ROADS UPGRADE
Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Luke Donnellan said, “the budget includes a massive investment in the Suburban Roads Upgrade of $ 2.2 billion package to upgrade 13 arterial roads across the northern and south-eastern suburbs.”
“We’d all rather spend more time with family and friends than stuck in traffic – that’s why we’re fixing the suburban roads people rely on every day,” he said.
BILINGUAL KINDERS
Minister for Families and Children, Jenny Mikakos disclosed that Victoria will be the first state in Australia to provide an additional $18 million to give at least 3,000 children attending state-funded kinders the opportunity to learn a language other than English for the very first time.
“The project will start in a few months and which languages form part of the scheme will be decided after community consultation”, she said.
