Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

How many people, indeed? And they are probably still affected, sadly. For Victoria, Australian government funding for schools and hospitals has increased. The opposition should not say anything else.

When it comes to infrastructure, it is the same story. Since coming to office in 2013, we have committed $17 billion to land transport infrastructure projects in Victoria. I must confess that my electorate of Wannon has been a beneficiary. There is the Murray Basin rail project of over $400 million, reopening the rail line between Maryborough and Ararat. When it comes to passenger rail, there is an investment of over $100 million in upgrading the Warrnambool-to-Melbourne line. I must say that—and this is one of the great ironies—during the state election campaign in Victoria, the state government members were out there claiming this as their own investment. It is $100 million by the Commonwealth to upgrade that line, and they were making up that it was they who did it all.

We will give you the facts on a daily basis between now and the next election and we will not let you get away with these lies. Funding for schools has increased. Funding for child care has increased. Funding for universities has increased. Funding for health has increased, whether it be hospitals or Medicare. And funding for infrastructure has increased.

It's worth knowing that the Labor Party will promise a lot, but how are they going to pay for it? This is something that the Australian people will become more and more aware of over the coming months. They will pay for it by increasing taxes by $200 billion. They are going to tax the life out of the Australian people and they are going to spend and spend. And we know this because their track record says that they will do this time and time again. They will place this nation back into debt. How long is it since we've had a budget surplus?

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