PREMIER Daniel Andrews has reassured Kerang golfers they will be hitting the course in greener times after he vowed to deliver on “every single” election commitment despite fears of a horror budget.
Mr Andrews on Thursday said the 2023/24 budget would look “very different” to previous years after the government was forced to “borrow money to get through” the coronavirus pandemic.
“Let’s be very clear about this – the budget is not the budget that was delivered five years ago – we will deliver all of our election commitments, every single one of them, because that’s what we do, but we had a COVID emergency and we had to go and borrow money to get through,” he told reporters.
“That money now has to be paid back and I’m not going to have a situation where we simply ignore the reality that interest rates have gone up – they’ve gone up for ordinary, hardworking Victorians across the state and they’ve gone up for the government too – and we will cut our costs accordingly.”
It came after Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh teed off at what he called a false election promise to the golf club by the Victorian Government.
In a joint media release between Labor’s candidate for the safe Nationals seat of Murray Plains, Damien Hurrell, and Community Sport Minister Ros Spence on November 15, the pair said it would fund $185,000 in upgrades to the club if re-elected.
“We’ll provide a $185,000 grant to the Kerang Golf Club to help fund upgrades and make it an even better place for local golfers to enjoy the game,” the statement said.
“Local sport is the lifeblood of Kerang, helping to bring communities and families together.
“That’s why the Labor Government is backing our sports clubs, families and communities by delivering better sports grounds and facilities.”
Four months later, Mr Walsh said there was “no sign of the minister delivering on her offer”.
Ms Spence’s office declined to answer when the club could expect the funding.
“This announcement will be subject to the State Budget in May,” a government spokesperson said.
Days later, the spokesperson said: “We’re getting on with delivering the commitments that were endorsed at the election”.
Mr Hurrell was asked if the funding was subject to the budget, but he failed to respond to questions.
