THE Victorian state election is only a day away and the latest polls are tipping voters will return the Andrews Labor Government with a healthy majority.
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Polls show voters are also turning to independents and micro parties with some pundits tipping their combined level of support may hit as much as 22 per cent on Saturday.
With a slew of independent and other candidates across regional and rural Victoria, the Bendigo Advertiser’s expert political commentators and former Premiers Steve Bracks and Denis Napthine go toe-to-toe on election eve to help you make sense of what has been a bruising – and long – campaign.
Watch what they both had to say here:
Steve Bracks:
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Denis Napthine:
KEY POINTS
On regional rail
SB: What we need is the further iteration of the regional rail system to look at not just speed but frequency and to have a regular system similar to the metropolitan rail system so that you don’t need a timetable, you know that every 15, 20 or 30 minutes there's going to be a rail line going and that frequency will mean you've got continuous flow into Melbourne and if you get that, you will have such an advance.
DN: We need to move the population out to regional and rural areas and to do that you need great rail services.
On education:
SB: When I think about Ballarat and Bendigo and Ararat and Geelong and Maryborough, I know the TAFE system is extremely important and the access to education the TAFE gives for people to get the skills they need in the jobs that we know are going to be there in those regions is very important.
DN: Both parties are committed to improving our education system, whether it be school education, tertiary education, skills education. I think the Liberal Party has a more practical, localised approach that I believe will make a real difference.
On doctors in regional areas
SB: Investment in health is a key issue in regional areas. I would argue that the redevelopment of the hospital in Ballarat, the already-completed development of the Bendigo hospital, the redevelopment of Maryborough and Ararat are key and important in the retention of clinicians into those areas, because they want to work in good facilities and they want to work with good teams, and your investment in the health system is going to bring that about and that's extremely important.
DN: A very important question about why we need to improve better access to medical specialists and other health professionals to regional areas like Bendigo. And the first thing we need to do is make sure we have the proper facilities to provide best treatment for people who need treat and also to attract the specialists. That's why the previous Liberal government that I led was very proud to invest significantly in the best regional hospital and health system in Australia, if not the world, in Bendigo. Having good facilities is really vital. And the Liberal Party has announced they'll enhance those facilities with robotic surgery in Bendigo.
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