The state budget has failed to provide for the booming population in the western suburbs, according to advocacy group LeadWest.
The budget, which was handed down on May 1, featured $5.6 million for the second stage of Burnside Primary School and $4.43 million for upgrades at Melton West Primary School. No other Melton-based projects were funded.
LeadWest chief executive Craig Rowley said the government had under invested in the fastest-growing region.
“Melbourne’s west is growing by 30,000 people a year, which is the fastest growth rate in Victoria,” he said.
“Unfortunately, this year’s budget has failed to acknowledge this growth. Slower-growing regions are receiving more funding in this year’s budget than we’re getting in the west.
“The west’s population will more than double in the next 30 years … we need significant investment to be put in place now to realise this opportunity.”
Mr Rowley said the budget should have included more money for schools, as well as funding projects that ease congestion across the western suburbs.
“The $2.2 billion suburban road upgrades package at the centre of this budget does nothing for the west, despite our huge population growth,” he said.
There were still huge parts of the region with large and growing deficits in road infrastructure, he said.
