Victoria’s Labor government has promised to spend $1 million rebuilding a Buddhist temple, and will hand out $235,000 for an Afghan festival and women’s service, and $580,000 for Vietnamese groups.
The pledges are part of a pre-state election $66 million local funding blitz by Premier Ben Carroll, who is trailing the Coalition and One Nation in the polls ahead of the November 28 vote, even though taxpayers are forking out billions of dollars per year in interest on the state’s $160 billion debt.
The government was warned in August that Victoria’s credit rating could be lowered if election promises weakened the state’s budget position, but Labor has made $7 billion worth of commitments, and Opposition leader Jess Wilson has made $8 billion in pre-election pledges so far.
MPs Gabrielle Williams, Lee Tarlamis and Belinda Wilson said on Sunday that if re-elected the Labor government would provide $160,000 over four years to the Victorian Afghan Associations Network Inc. (VAAN) to put on the Nowruz Festival in the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong, which has a large Afghan population.
A week earlier Mr Tarlamis said a re-elected Labor government would give another $75,000 to Afghan Women’s Organisation Victoria to help them “support newly arrived women from Afghanistan and families in their journey of resettlement and integration”.
Also on Sunday MPs Meng Heang Tak and Eden Foster announced Labor would invest $1 million into rebuilding the Bright Moon Buddhist Temple in Springvale South, which burned down in 2023.
Last year Labor gave the temple $333,333 for reconstruction as part of the government’s $40 million Multicultural Community Infrastructure Fund.
Labor has also promised to give the Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association in Springvale $250,000, and the South East Melbourne Vietnamese Associations Council in Springvale South $330,000.
Another $43 million has been pledged to expand foreign language teaching in schools, along with $11 million for Hindu and Sikh temples, as part of attempts by Labor to win over Indian voters.
Header image: Labor MPs announcing the Afghan festival election promise (ALP).
