Dental and worker pledges as Victorian election campaign enters final month

Premier Ben Carroll and Opposition Leader Jess Wilson will both hit the campaign trail today as Victoria enters its final month before the November 28 state election. Mr Carroll is scheduled to double an earlier Labor campaign promise to open new dental clinics offering free care, from 10 to a revised 20 statewide. Ms Wilson will today pledge to strengthen, expand and expedite workplace protection orders to keep violent and abusive offenders away from targeted workers. New dental centres and updated worker protection laws have been pledged by the major parties as Victoria gears up for its final month of election campaigning. Premier Ben Carroll will today announce that a re-elected Labor government would double its initial pledge to open new dental centres, from an original 10 to an updated 20 facilities statewide. Opposition Leader Jess Wilson will also hit the campaign trail and is set to pledge that a Coalition government would fast-track workplace protection orders to keep violent offenders away from workers they have previously abused. More than 4.6 million Victorians are on the electoral roll and are set to head to the polls this month, either at early voting centres, by postal ballot or on traditional election Saturday, scheduled for November 28. Phone and mobile voting is also offered for specific cases. Early voting starts on November 18. Labor's dental check up In August, Mr Carroll pledged a re-elected Labor government would open 10 free dental clinics across Victoria in one of his first moves as premier, after replacing Jacinta Allan as Victorian Labor leader. Today, Mr Carroll will announce he was doubling the number of those clinics to 20, with a $230 million price-tag. "No Victorian should ever have to live in pain because they can't afford to see a dentist," the Labor leader said. "We'll deliver 20 free dental clinics, open to anyone of any age." The Labor campaign also announced the intended locations of the regional dental hubs, with the centres of Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, the Latrobe Valley, Mildura and Shepparton nominated. Suburban hubs in the Banyule, Brimbank, Cardinia, Casey, Dandenong, Frankston, Hume, Maribyrnong, Melton, Monash, Whittlesea, Wyndham, Yarra and Yarra Ranges council areas have also been identified for the new dental centres if Labor is re-elected. Mr Carroll said his campaign bus intended to visit all 20 locations proposed for the statewide dental scheme. Coalition's worker protection reforms Meanwhile, Ms Wilson will announce that a Coalition government, if elected later this month, would strengthen, expand and expedite workplace protection orders to keep violent and abusive offenders away from targeted workers. The Opposition Leader said a Coalition government under her leadership would introduce interim protection orders as part of its first round of legislation as soon as the Victorian Parliament resumed after the state election. The Coalition proposal would also allow Victoria Police to apply for protection orders on behalf of victims as well as extending the scheme to all commercial, hospitality and service-based premises where workers deal with the public. Ms Wilson said the proposed reforms would start on February 1 next year, if the Coalition was elected. "Think about the mum working the late shift at a supermarket, the young person serving customers at their first job or the small business owner just trying to make ends meet," Ms Wilson said. "They should be able to go to work, do their job and come home safely to their families. "Victorian families are already doing it tough with the cost of living. The last thing they need is to worry about their loved ones being threatened or assaulted just for turning up to work."