STATE ELECTION Bellarine candidates put their pledges on the table

WITH the 2018 State Election to be decided this weekend, the Bellarine Times has compiled a wrapup of what our Bellarine candidates are pledging.

The big ticket pledges from Labor’s Lisa Neville (incumbent MP) include $318 million for the Barwon Heads Road duplication, $5 million for Stage 2 of the Drysdale Sports Precinct, $6 million for the completion of a rebuild at Newcomb Secondary College, the recruitment of an extra 3,135 police, $1 million for the establishment of Barwon Heads Community Arts Hub, and declaring the Surf Coast and Bellarine Peninsula a Distinctive Area and Landscape under the Planning and Environment Act – setting permanent height controls and town boundaries to protect the environment, landscape and local lifestyle.

Pledges from the Liberal Party’s Brian McKiterick include $15 million for a Bellarine North Police Station, $1 million for works at Drysdale, Queenscliff and Portarlington police stations, $290 million to duplicate Barwon Heads Road from Settlement Road through to Lower Duneed Road, $1.8 million to complete the Point Lonsdale Surf Life Saving Club clubhouse and rebuild the unsafe operations centre, a feasibility study into a secondary college in Leopold, and he’ll block inappropriate development in the Bellarine.

Pledges from Rachel Semmens from the Australian Greens include providing the Bellarine community with some certainty by ensuring consistent controls including mandatory height limits and protection of green wedges and town boundaries, significant investment in large scale publicly owned renewable energy, bringing energy back into the hands of the public where it belongs, supporting the maintenance of roads in regional areas, for transport and safety for all road users, including cyclists, and providing an efficient and reliable bus service across the Bellarine.

Naomi Adams from the Animal Justice Party (AJP) has six key campaign areas for the election – free hens from cages, ban live export, protect ducks, safeguard our national emblem, take greyhounds off the track and increase penalties for animal cruelty.

Lastly, Jackie Kriz from the Victorian Socialists is campaigning for a whole-of-state jobs and industry plan, decent affordable housing for all, an expanded public transport system that works, communities that can resist racism and overpolicing, better schools – with no hidden costs to parents – in every neighbourhood and more parks and green space.

For a more detailed overview on all the pledges, visit bellarinetimes.com.au.