Council
22 May, 2026
Britnell slams state budget
THE Allan Labor Government’s Budget has been slammed by South West Coast MP Roman Britnell as a complete betrayal of regional Victorians.
Following the release of the state Budget earlier this month, Ms Britnell warned that communities across the south west were being “disrespected” while the government hid behind what she described as creative accounting and spin.
She said the south west coast had once again been “hoodwinked” with no funding commitments for critical local projects.
This included the long-awaited WRAD Lookout Rehabilitation Centre, needed to support people recovering from addiction and ease pressure on the broader health system.
She said the budget also failed to show any commitment to delivering the Warrnambool Base Hospital redevelopment to its full scope.
Desperately needed local road maintenance (despite potholes appearing the size of bathtubs) also failed to be allocated funding, along with urgent infrastructure repairs to schools described as in poor condition, with schools such as Warrnambool Primary School and Port Fairy Consolidated School continuing to face ageing facilities and insufficient investment to meet growing enrolments.
“The rebuild of Warrnambool College’s leaking and crumbling auditorium also appears to have not been allocated funding,” she said.
“And no extra train carriages have been added to the Warrnambool line. This highlights the continued decline in public transport services, where commuters are facing reduced capacity, overcrowding and substandard travel conditions.”
Ms Britnell further pointed to the growing strain on frontline services, including a lack of police, overstretched nurses, and teachers being forced to do more with fewer resources.
She claimed the budget demonstrated a broader failure by the government to prioritise regional communities, instead focusing their spending on Melbourne projects, while services and infrastructure across south west Victoria continue to deteriorate.
“This budget proves what people in the south west already know - this government has lost its focus on everyday Victorians,” she said.
“While Labor tries to claim a surplus through tricky accounting, families in our region are living the reality of underfunded services, overstretched staff, and neglected infrastructure. We’ve had enough, and they are not fooling anyone.
“At a time when our nurses are stretched to breaking point and patients are waiting longer for care, this government thinks it has fooled us into believing it will deliver the hospital we were promised, secretly deleting vital services from the scope.
“The people of the south west work hard, pay their taxes, and deserve their fair share. What they’ve been handed in this budget is offensive.”
