Dear Friends,

I hope you are all well and safe during these trying times.

I just wanted to give you a quick update on a few things that have been happening in our community. Please read on for some of the highlights.

If you need assistance on state government issues or further information, please feel free to contact my electorate office by calling tel: 9422 5171 or emailing me at lily.d’ambrosio@parliament.vic.gov.au

Warm regards,

$250 Power Saving Bonus available for low income families 

Our government’s $250 Power Saving Bonus has helped more than 6,000 families in the Mill Park electorate with their electricity bills. I urge you to check if you are eligible and if you haven’t applied to receive this one-off payment, please do so.  You still have plenty of time to apply as this payment will be available until 31st January 2022.

Please contact my office if you’d like help with the application or apply through Victorian Energy Compare.

The $250 Power Saving Bonus is available once to households with at least one resident receiving payments under an eligible concession program, including Centrelink or The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) Pensioner Concession, JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, Abstudy, or Austudy, or holds a DVA Gold Card.

ENROLMENTS NOW OPEN FOR NEW SCHOOL WOLLERT PRIMARY

Things are progressing fast at our new Wollert Primary School site. This new school is located at 131 De Rossi Boulevard, Wollert and with enrolments now open Wollert Primary is scheduled to receive its first students in Term 1, 2022.

You can visit www.findmyschool.vic.gov.au to find out if you live within the Wollert Primary School zone. Presently, the school is only accepting enrolments from within the zone.

Families wishing to enrol their children at the school can complete the Wollert Primary School Enrolment Expression of Interest form.

Wollert Primary School is a Supported Inclusion School. This means the school will be equipped with additional amenities to support and enhance learning for students with disabilities.

This new school is part of the Victorian Government’s $438.6 million investment in new schools in our state. In addition to the school, a kinder and a community centre is being built next to the Wollert Primary site. The new kinder will help local children make a smooth transition from pre-school and reduce the number of drop-offs for many parents with kinder and school aged children.

The community centre will include three kindergarten rooms and is funded by the Victorian Government and the City of Whittlesea. Our government’s contribution to the community centre is $2.75 million and funded under our Building Blocks funding stream.

Three-Year-Old Kinder is one of the Andrews Labor Government’s most significant reforms and we want to celebrate the statewide roll out in 2022 by giving out special Kinder Kits to all enrolled three year old children at the start of next year.

We are also calling out for local businesses to apply to help fill these kits with fun, educational materials and help give our three year olds the very best start to their learning journey.

Thanks to an $8 million investment in the Victorian Budget 2021/22, the specially designed kits are being created to complement kinder learning by offering fun and creative activities to continue learning at home with the family.

To help to keep jobs local and support Victoria’s economic recovery from the pandemic, the materials for the kit will be sourced locally and produced sustainably where possible.

Our local businesses can find more about the sourcing of materials process and to apply to design or provide materials for the Kinder Kits visit tenders.vic.gov.au

$1,000 TO STAY WARM FOR LESS IN WINTER

Do you have an old heater that needs to be replaced? If yes, you might be eligible to receive $1,000 towards the replacement of  your heating system and install an energy efficient reverse cycle system.

We are helping thousands of low-income Victorians upgrade their inefficient heaters – improving the comfort of their homes, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and saving households up to $300 per year on their energy bills.

In early August I announced the start of our government’s Home Heating and Cooling Upgrades Program. The program provides $1,000 rebates to support low-income households to replace their old heaters with energy-efficient reverse-cycle systems that can warm their home in winter and cool it in summer.

The rebates are now open to owner-occupier households with an approved concession card or a combined household income of less than $90,000 and could cover more than half of the typical efficient reverse-cycle system. We are also working on how to extend the program to renters in the coming months.

Additional rebates of $200 are available to cap old gas heaters, and $500 to upgrade electrical switchboards.

To learn more about the program and to apply for a rebate visit the program website.

Since 2016, the Labor Government has removed one level crossing on the Mernda line and started removing another four, while three new stations have been built or are underway.

Removing this extra crossing will mean six level crossings on the line will be gone for good – improving safety, reducing congestion and allowing more trains to run without frustrating boom gate delays.

Early investigations suggest the most likely design to remove the Keon Parade crossing will be a rail bridge over the road, however engineers will continue to assess and refine this option before designs are finalised.

The removal of the Keon Parade level crossing  will be delivered by 2025.