Latest news with #AllanGovernment
News.com.au
a day ago
- Health
- News.com.au
Principals given power to suspend, expel students outside school grounds
The Allan government has announced sweeping new powers for school principals across Victoria, allowing them to take further action for student behaviour outside school grounds and online. From the first day of term 3 this year, principals across Victorian schools will have expanded powers to suspend or expel students for behaviour outside the school gates and behind a screen. The change in powers is in line with NSW and South Australia, which have implemented such capacities for principals to suspend, exclude or expel students for behaviour that could affect student and staff safety. It is also in response to an increase in online abuse and harassment among students, particularly online, including deepfakes and AI-generated images. In February, police launched an investigation after a 'number of sexually explicit, digitally generated images of teenage girls who attend Gladstone Park Secondary College were circulated online'. Education Minister Ben Carroll said the change would 'send a clear message that harmful behaviour outside of school or online has consequences'. 'In Victoria, community safety comes first,' he said. 'The safety of students, teachers and school staff is our top priority – we're investing in programs that foster more respectful schools and acting to protect school communities. 'This builds on our nation-leading ban on mobile phones in schools and our support of a social media ban for kids – keeping kids safe in the classroom and online.' As part of the sweeping new powers, $4.2m will be invested to offer support for victims who experienced sexual harm and abuse from another student – either online or in person – through Sexual Assault Services Victoria. The state budget also allocated $10.4m to expand the Positive Behaviour Support program, which teaches students appropriate behaviour, develops safe learning spaces and offers support for students who require behavioural assistance.
Sky News AU
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Victoria's Allan government ‘does not listen' to the people
Victorian Liberal MP Bev McArthur says the Victorian Allan Government does not "listen'. This comes as a new land tax is introduced in the state. 'All I can say is, this Labor Government has failed over a long period of time since they introduced this tax,' Ms McArthur told Sky News host Rita Panahi. 'They won't answer emails of constituents, they won't answer phone calls, they won't attend rallies, they weren't on the steps of parliament yesterday – they just do not listen.'
Herald Sun
20-05-2025
- Business
- Herald Sun
Victorian state budget: Myki credit card tap-ons running 18 months late
An upgrade of the troubled myki system to allow for credit card tap-ons across the transport network will cost an extra $137 million and is running 18 months late. The new financial hit is among $3.3 billion in major project blowouts that have battered the state budget in the past year — a total increase of about 2 per cent for the projects impacted. Delays of three months or more have also hit almost a third of projects across the state, as broader construction sector woes continued to hit the Big Build. The taxpayer pain comes as the Allan Government taps the brakes on its Big Build, which is spread across 518 public sector roads and rail, schools, and hospitals, to create a more 'sustainable infrastructure program'. Some of the budget blowouts include $838m on the Metro Tunnel announced last year, more than $410m on regional rail upgrades, $53m on the troubled Murray Basin Rail Project, and $40m on the Tarneit railway station in Melbourne's west. Most of the blowouts are blamed on market forces, with construction costs soaring over recent years. But the $137m blowout on the myki upgrade was due to a 'program reset', which was forced after contractor Conduent complained of unforeseen costs. This included being unable to access source code and other technical information from the previous operator. Budget papers show the full project is not due to finish until the end of 2028, after being due to wrap up halfway through 2027. Despite this, the government has committed to having credit cards in use for full fare passengers on some modes of transport early next year, after it announced it would do a staged rollout. The Herald Sun revealed the project had been thrown into turmoil this year when one of the project partners walked away from the job, following a legal dispute over costs. The budget papers suggest the worst of the material price hikes sparked by Covid-19 and global chaos are behind us, but that risks of skills shortages remain. After annual infrastructure spending hit an unprecedented $24bn a year, capital investments are set to slow to $16bn a year by 2028-29, under what Treasurer Jaclyn Symes calls a 'commitment to a sustainable infrastructure program'. An extra $8.1bn in new projects have been jammed into the pipeline this year, however, ensuring job numbers don't dry up overnight. This includes the previously announced spending on the Sunshine station expansion and untangling of rail lines in the west, which the Allan Government says paves the way to build an Airport Rail Link. It also includes $1.2bn in schools and education, and $214m on hospitals. As Victoria's infrastructure spending slows – albeit to a level that is still higher than prior to the Covid-19 crisis – budget papers also show a significant proportion of spending over the next decade will be on the $34.5 billion Suburban Rail Loop East. The Government now calls the first stage of a 90km orbital rail line 'Australia's biggest housing project' due to plans to build 70,000 new homes around station precincts, including in suburban high rises. The State hopes to secure $11.5bn from the Commonwealth to help pay for the 26km tunnel between Cheltenham and Box Hill, which will be dug from next year and open to passengers in 2035. So far, the Albanese Government has provided $2.2bn, but has baulked at further cash injections until issues with a project business case – raised by its advisory body Infrastructure Australia – have been addressed. State Budget papers take a dig at the Commonwealth for historically underfunding Victorian infrastructure, as a share of population. This includes this year's federal budget, which provides Victoria a 21.4 per cent share of national rail and road funding despite the state housing 25.8 per cent of the country's population. 'Funding received from the Commonwealth is also often not aligned with project milestones, meaning the State is providing upfront cashflows for jointly funded major projects,' the Budget says. It says a co-ordinated effort by the Commonwealth and State is needed to better deliver infrastructure in the national interest including 'investment in the city-shaping Suburban Rail Loop, a crucial transport link and Australia's biggest housing project in its most populous city'.
News.com.au
15-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
The Block serial buyer Danny Wallis, REIV reveal landlord fears for Vic budget, what it would take to win them back
Victoria's top real estate industry group has revealed they fear landlords will be hit again in the state's 2025-2026 budget next week. It comes as The Block serial buyer and prolific property investor Danny Wallis has revealed the state government has broken the trust of landlords and can no longer hope to stop an exodus that has wiped more than 20,000 rental properties from the state. Last weekend Mr Wallis sold his fourth investment property since the Allan government announced a land tax increase for the start of 2024, and expects he will have divested six properties from his portfolio by the end of this year. The 6 Gray Lane, Albert Park, property fetched $2.15m at auction. He still retains about 10 homes bought from hit reality renovation show The Block as part of his expansive investment property list, which also includes homes that have been made available to house families getting treatment for kids with cancer via the My Room Children's Cancer Charity. But the tech entrepreneur said the only homes he would buy in the state today were now the high-end listings from The Block, and only then because they come with tax benefits that outweigh the levies implemented by the state government. He is now selling whenever tenants leave his investments, and in most cases not to other investors — meaning they are being lost from the rental market. In the September quarter of 2023 Homes Victoria reports show there were 671,109 active residential tenancy bonds across the state. The latest data in December last year showed just 649,978, reflecting a 21,131 decline from the peak of available rental homes in the state. Earlier iterations of the report reflected a 677,492 peak in September 2023, but have been revised. The exodus has widely been blamed on land tax tweaks implemented by the Allan government at the start of 2024. 'I don't think they can do anything to stop it, the trust is broken,' Mr Wallis said. 'I'm expecting the state budget will be hitting landlords again, this government seems to hate landlords.' Real Estate Institute of Victoria president Kelly Ryan said she too held concerns. 'We do have concerns around the investment side,' Ms Ryan said. 'The new treasurer, in one of her first media engagements, said landlords are rich and can afford the land tax. 'If that flows through this budget, that would be a concern as we know the majority of investors are school teachers, and nurses and tradespeople.' She added that one of the best things the next budget could do for rebuilding investor's confidence in Victoria, and to help build a larger supply of rental homes, was to leave landlords alone. 'No announcement is an announcement when it comes to the investor market at the moment,' Ms Ryan said. 'If they can slow down the pace of change, that's a big thing for the market. Give them a chance to catch their breath and get their heads around things.' Noting more than 150 reforms made since just before the pandemic, many of them requiring expensive upgrades to homes, she said ongoing budget and policy tweaks targeting landlords had resulted in many being forced to sell. Ms Ryan added the most important step the government could take would be to use land tax as an incentive scheme to encourage longer-term availability of rental properties by providing discounts to investors who keep homes available for tenants for extended periods. While that would 'make things better than they are', Ms Ryan said it wasn't clear if it would be enough to stop the tide of investors selling up. Real Estate Buyers Agents Association of Australia Victorian representative Matthew Scafidi said the government could win some investors back by relaxing tax burdens on those who only held one home – while raising the cost for those who own large numbers. 'If you have one, you shouldn't pay as much land tax, and if you own 10, you would pay more — as that person is running that as a business,' Mr Scafidi said. 'And the mum and dad who have bought an investment property … they can't afford it.' The Abode Advocacy Group founder said with instances of land tax going from $5000 a year to $30,000 for some investors, forced sales had been inevitable. Mr Scafidi said interstate buyers were now eyeing Melbourne as an alternative to Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, where prices had comparatively surged during the past two years. Mr Wallis said the interstate investors were probably tenants' best hope for more rental choice in the future, but warned they too could be scared off if the government pursued investors again in next week's budget. 'They are thinking it's easy money, but they're not coming at the same rate as others are leaving,' Mr Wallis said. 'And they don't realise what they are going to get hit with.'
ABC News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Victorian government commits $727m in state budget for more prison beds after bail reform
The Victorian government has promised to spend $727 million ramping up capacity in the state's prisons and youth justice centres, following tougher new bail laws introduced in March. It has vowed to increase the number of adult prison beds in Victoria by almost 1,000, with a further 88 beds to open at youth justice facilities at Cherry Creek, located in Little River, and Parkville, in Melbourne's inner-north. "The Labor government introduced Australia's toughest bail laws to protect people in the community from the risk of serious crime — and now, more serious and repeat alleged offenders are going to jail, not getting bail," a government spokesperson said. The extra prison beds would cater for an increasing number of alleged offenders being denied bail, and support the opening of the new maximum security Western Plains Correctional Centre, the government said. In March, new bail legislation for Victoria passed both houses after a marathon sitting, becoming law. The contentious changes mean that remand is no longer considered a last resort for youth offenders, and there are stricter bail tests for people who commit a crime while on bail. There is also a requirement for those accused of sex crimes, manslaughter and armed robbery to show "compelling reasons" they should be granted bail. The changes drew criticism from community legal groups and youth advocates, which accused the Allan government of "ramming through dangerous and discriminatory bail laws which will deeply harm Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and breach human rights". Premier Jacinta Allan had been facing mounting pressure to address rising crime rates, particularly due to repeat youth offenders. On Tuesday, the government said its $727 million injection would also support the opening of the new maximum security Western Plains Correctional Centre. The $1.19 billion prison, located in Lara, has sat empty since 2022, but is scheduled to start accepting prisoners in the middle of this year. The government has previously spruiked Western Plains as a state-of-the-art facility with 1,248 beds, however the prison is expected to open with about 600 beds initially. Thanks to a recruitment drive, more than 640 prison officers and more than 170 youth justice officers have also joined the corrections system in the past year, the spokesperson said. "The Budget will continue this recruitment, with funding for a further 320 new roles in youth justice and 400 new roles in adult corrections." A sign-on bonus of $8,000, announced at the beginning of the year to woo new recruits to Western Plains and Hopkins Correctional Centre, in Ararat, has also been extended to all other adult prisons, the government said. The government on Tuesday said it would also introduce amendments to the Corrections Act to crack down on prisoners who assault and injure custodial staff. "This makes it crystal clear that any prisoner convicted of assaulting and injuring a corrections worker can expect additional time added on top of their existing sentence." The state budget will be handed down on May 20.
