Vic surplus has 'blood on its hands': ALP

The Victorian government's massive surplus projections have come at the expense of health and education, the Labor opposition says.

The Victorian government's billion dollar surplus was built by taking a knife to TAFEs and neglecting hospitals and schools, Labor says.

Shadow Treasurer Tim Pallas said ordinary people could not see the benefit of a surplus if it left every school and hospital in deficit.

"This surplus has blood on its hands," he told parliament in Labor's response to the budget on Thursday.

"It was built with the biggest cuts to TAFE in Victoria's history, with institutional neglect of our hospitals and schools.

"It's made our state a hard place to raise a family."

Mr Pallas said the budget forgot about fundamentals, such as school and hospital funding, and aged care.

Victorians also deserved better than a panicked plan on public transport, he said.

"They're the world's last convert to the cause of public transport," he said.

"They've gone from a do-nothing government to an 'oh my God', do something government."

Mr Pallas said the Melbourne rail link, the $11 billion budget centrepiece, was inferior to the previous Melbourne metro plan which included five new stations in areas of need and would solve gridlock.

"It's the evil twin. It's a ghost train," he said.

"Melbourne metro improved access to the city loop, this one doesn't.

"This plan has all the elements of being drawn on the back of a napkin on budget day.

"There's no business case and no consultation.

"No firm date for completion, just panic."

Labor would consult the experts about the projects Victoria needs, he said.

The government will spend $27 billion on new infrastructure and has forecast a string of hefty back-to-back surpluses, with a $1.3 billion operating surplus for 2014/15 expected to grow to $3.3 billion by 2017/18.

Deputy Premier Peter Ryan said the government will go to the November election on a record of delivering its promises before and since coming to power.

"The foundation for this great budget is the bedrock of our management of the economy," he told parliament.

The government retained its triple A credit rating, had surpluses forecast over the forward estimates and controlled its spending.

Mr Ryan said it was this disciplined approach that enabled the government to fund $27 billion of infrastructure projects in the budget, creating 26,000 jobs.

"They will change for the better the state of Victoria," he said.

"These are practical projects. They will add to the livability of this great city of Melbourne, they will provide commercial advantages to all of us in Victoria."


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Source: AAP


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