City largely misses out on priorities in state budget

The City of Greater Geelong has received some of the spending it has been asking for in the Victorian budget but only one of the items in its list of infrastructure advocacy priorities has received funding.

Geelong mayor Stretch Kontelj has welcomed the spending but said the city needed more to keep pace with population growth.

In its response to the budget, G21 said any investment was helpful but options benefiting the entire state were prefererable.

The city’s submission to the 2026–27 budget, formalised in December, lists three groupings of priority projects under the banner of critical infrastructure for growth: Avalon (mostly upgrades at Avalon Airport and Beach Road), transport infrastructure (including Bellarine Link and the Armstrong Creek rail spur) and central Geelong initiatives such as a Special Economic Zone and redevelopment of the Geelong Gallery.

Regional sport and recreation is also a priority project, with items such as a Regional Indoor Sport and Events Centre and a Regional Soccer Facility.

Of the 19 requests in the above categories, none are funded in the 2026–27 budget.

The only priority item to be supported was Mount Duneed Secondary School, which is in the regional advocacy priorities category and was announced by the state government on 1 May ahead of the budget.

“The city has strongly advocated to the Victorian government to commit to building Mt Duneed Secondary School and we are pleased to see money in the budget to purchase land in the fastest-growing region in the state,” Cr Kontelj said.

He said the city had also been pushing for two other funded projects: the Drysdale-Ocean Grove bus route and for the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative in North Geelong.

Cr Kontelj also noted school funding for Drysdale and Ocean Grove, $2.5 million for Gifkins Road in Little River, and for Portarlington Ferry services and a pedestrian crossing at Connewarre.

“We understand the government is constrained by the significant pressures on the state’s budget position and the need to deliver cost of living relief across Victoria at a challenging time, but the real work now begins advocating for our priority projects in the lead up to the state election to ensure Geelong to get its fair share of funding to reflect our growing population and economic growth,” he said.

G21 chair Cr Jason Schram said $300 million towards the Regional Rail Link and coordination of bus services to align with new rail timetables would help residents in all five G21 municipalities but more detail was needed.

G21 also supports funding to repair potholes and registration discounts for motorists facing cost of living pressures.

“The public transport announcements are welcome news; however, a lot of the families in the region we represent may not see any change,” Cr Schram said.

He said roads were critical for regional Victorians as they had fewer public transport options.

Cr Schram said investment in in emergency preparedness was timely.