STATE Labor is performing well on delivering on its magnitude of promises it offered to the Ballarat region, but work remains, particularly on finalising funding for school upgrades.
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One year after Labor's state election win, most of its promises were funded in the May state budget.
In Ballarat, big ticket items which have so far been funded include $10 million for the Her Majesty's Theatre redevelopment, planning for fast rail between Ballarat and Melbourne and upgrades to nine of the city's most dangerous intersections have already happened or are underway.
Schools have also received some funding for planning of upgrades or redevelopments including $3.6 million to Mount Rowan Secondary College, $1.7 million to Miners Rest Primary School, $1.5 million to Urquhart Park Primary School and $800,000 to Ballarat High School.
But this remains a fraction of the total amount of spending which was promised and with a $5.2 billion budget shortfall due to the housing market downturn, the pressure will be on to make sure schools get the funding they were promised.
Other big ticket items that will be needed in coming years to keep Ballarat moving with its projected growth include funding for Link Road, Ballarat West Emplyment Zone (BWEZ), continued funding of future fast rail and the Ballarat Innovation and Research Collaboration for Health (BIRCH), which the State Government promises to continue lobbying for federal funding.
The campaign is also ramping up for the creation of a Men's Health Centre in Ballarat particularly given recommendations this week from the Mental Health Royal Commission which shows service black holes in regional Victoria.
Wendouree MP Juliana Addison who along with Buninyong's Michaela Settle was elected for the first time at the last election, said she had learned that being in government was a gift.
She is unapologetic over her determination to see promises get funded.
"It's something you must take seriously and you can't afford to waste a single day," she said. "Since we've been elected we've budgeted nearly all of our election promises.
"We let people know what we wanted to do and we put it to the community who showed us a fantastic support in the election last year."
Ms Settle said she was proud to have met many commitments.
"The Haddon Stadium floor is underway while the new VCE Centre at Woodmans Hill Secondary College opened this year. The Royal Commission into Mental Health has just released its first report and just this week we created a new crime of workplace manslaughter."
Ripon's Liberal MP Louise Staley said the government had much still to do.
Ms Staley said it was time to get on with the $100 million rebuild of the Maryborough hospital which she says is "shovel ready". The state government committed the $100 million in contingency in the budget, to be held until the project was ready to start.
She added it was time to get going on planned works at Miners Rest Primary School.
"The badly needed upgrade to Miners Rest Primary School is still yet to get past the planning stage," she said.
"The children attending the school will probably all be in secondary school before that gets done.
"Also, this month we will see Labor's expensive Regional Rail Upgrade project result in a new timetable with 117 slower services on the Ballarat, Maryborough and Ararat lines. The Maryborough line has suffered through 35 consecutive months of sub-standard service."
Ballarat-based Roads Minister Jaala Pulford said the government committed itself to "transformative projects and important social policy changes".
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