The 2018/19 Victorian Budget will deliver new skills, good jobs, more schools and better roads for every Victorian.

Families in Dandenong will benefit from a record investment in Victorian schools, with nearly $1.3 billion invested in schools around the state.

This includes building and planning 28 new schools, and upgrading 130 existing schools – including $5.1 million for Dandenong West Primary School to build a new learning and community area with five new classrooms and staff workspaces and a new multipurpose space and canteen.

Lyndale Secondary College will also receive $3.8 million to continue the next stage of school’s rebuild. This further investment will fund development of a new Creative Arts Wing, following earlier work to revitalise the College’s performing arts, STEM and food technology facilities, taking the total investment at Lyndale to $16.8 million since 2015.

Students at Emerson School will also get the facilities they deserve, thanks to a $55.6 million investment to plan and upgrade 15 specialist schools, meeting the needs of students with disabilities or special needs. This includes funding for a full masterplan to best fit the school’s needs and provide more students the opportunities they deserve.

The Budget also includes funding to start planning the new Endeavour Hills Special School to keep up with demand. This new special school will mean families across the inner south east can have peace of mind that they will be able to access a great local school. Victoria’s special schools provide an important option for families of children with disabilities – offering specialised programs and support to ensure every student, wherever they go to school, gets the individual attention they deserve.

The Budget includes $4.3 billion investment in better roads around the state, including a new bridge over the Cranbourne rail line to connect Pound Road West and Remington Drive, Dandenong South.

Funding will also be provided to plan for traffic lights at the Heatherton Road, Lightwood Road and Douglas Street intersection.

Commuters will benefit from the major upgrade to the Cranbourne-Pakenham rail corridor included in the Budget. The upgrades will increase capacity, improve system resilience and accommodate new High Capacity Metro Trains, meaning a train every 10 minutes on the Dandenong Line.

The Budget also includes planning and development for a future Cranbourne line duplication and associated works at the Dandenong and Caulfield rail junctions.

Cost should never stop someone from learning new skills, that’s why this year’s Budget includes $172 million to make priority TAFE courses free, giving more Dandenong residents the chance to be able to train at TAFE and get the right skills they need for a good job. 30 priority TAFE courses and 18 pre-apprenticeship courses will be made free, while more than 30,000 new TAFE places will be funded across the state.

More local students will also be able to finish school qualified and ready to work, with the introduction of Head Start Apprenticeships and Traineeships in 100 secondary schools.

It means young people in our community will have the option to undertake an additional year of high school, and graduate with an apprenticeship or traineeship, ready to start work in a good job.

Dandenong students will also get expert advice to help them make the right career choices, with career education in schools to be overhauled across the state and start from Year 9.

We’re building better roads and upgrading the local roads people use every day to get Victorians out of traffic and home to their families sooner.

This is a Labor Budget that delivers on the things that matter most to our state. This is a Budget that gets things done.