Mr McCurdy said the government’s $727 million surplus was meaningless when set against a debt mountain forecast to reach almost $200 billion.
“This is smoke and mirrors,” he said.
“A tiny surplus doesn’t undo years of financial mismanagement when Victorians are staring down record debt and an $11.8 billion interest bill.
“Every dollar spent servicing that debt is a dollar not going into our hospitals, roads or local services.”
Mr McCurdy said the budget confirmed essential services were declining, with ambulance response rates sitting at just 65 per cent for the most critical cases.
“People in emergencies are left waiting. That’s unacceptable and dangerous,” he said.
“It’s hard to take ‘Safer. Easier. More Affordable’ seriously when this budget delivers slower emergency response times, neglected regional roads and a debt bill that will make life tougher for Victorian families.”
Mr McCurdy also raised concerns about regional roads, saying the government’s $1.04 billion road blitz did not stack up.
“Less than three million square metres of regional roads will be maintained next year, about a third of previous levels,” he said.
Mr McCurdy said housing targets had been missed, and police shortages remained, leaving regional communities behind.
“The only way to ensure regional Victorians get their fair share is by electing the Nationals and Liberals to government this November,” he said.
