This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

An unprecedented $1.9bn will be spent tackling family violence in Victoria, more money than all of Australia’s other jurisdictions combined, the state’s treasurer, Tim Pallas, says.

The funding to implement all 227 recommendations of the royal commission into family violence is the centrepiece of Tuesday’s budget. The spending is new money on top of funds committed last year to get the ball rolling.

The money will help fund the creation of 17 support and safety hubs across the state, five specialist family violence courts in regional and metropolitan Victoria and a family violence prevention agency.

“It is more money directed in this budget to family violence than all of the budgets of all of the states and territories and commonwealth combined,” Pallas told reporters on Tuesday.

Victoria tackles family violence never flinching, and never forgetting Read more

“There is more money directed to family violence in this budget, than the state of Victoria has ever committed to family violence in all preceding budgets combined.

“It’s big, it’s important and it’s necessary.”

The government is looking for $1.3bn in savings from the public sector through a “redirection of effort”to pay for the measures, Pallas says.

“This work has to be done,” he told reporters.

The budget is titled “Getting on with the job” and continues with the government’s infrastructure, education and health investment agenda.

There’s $1.3bn going to schools, including $685m to build new ones and upgrade others.

An extra $2.9bn will also be put into healthcare for hospital upgrades – including planning for a new Footscray hospital – improved ambulance services, a mental health overhaul and tackling family violence.

And billions continue to be spent on rail and roads. Among those projects are a regional rail revamp strictly dependent on federal funds, and new roads including $300m for the Mordialloc Bypass and $100m to plan the North East Link.

Getting the job done comes at a cost. While a $1.2bn surplus is forecast for 2017-18, with a further $7bn in the forward estimates, net debt has gone up too.

Debt is jumping from $18.1bn in the 2016-17 financial year to $23.8bn for 2017-18, and will continue to grow according to the forward estimates to almost $29bn by 2021.

But Pallas says state revenue will remain healthy and above debt.

The budget shows Victoria’s coffers will reap $63.4bn in revenue in 2017-18.

• National domestic violence helpline: 1800 737 732 or 1800RESPECT. In an emergency call triple-zero

