Brumby hoping to score with footy pledge

For a state that's footy mad, it could be just the carrot to entice a few swinging
regional voters.
Three days before the Victorian election, Premier John Brumby marched into Ballarat
- jacket off, Sherrin in hand, $30 million in his pocket - promising to bring the
AFL to town.
Mr Brumby wants the North Melbourne Football Club to establish a second home in
Ballarat, playing up to four games a year, and has promised to kick in funds to
upgrade the Eureka Stadium if the AFL comes on board.
The pledge was a blatant pitch to voters in a clutch of marginal regional seats that
Labor desperately needs to hang on to if it is to secure a record fourth term on
Saturday.
In a last-ditch bid to woo crucial voters, Mr Brumby embarked on a cash-splashing
regional tour on Wednesday, taking in Ballarat, Geelong and Talbot, near
Maryborough.
Labor holds seats in these regions by as little as 2.3 per cent.
Meanwhile, 10 of his ministers participated in the regional blitz, striking a total
of 17 towns in one day.
Mr Brumby played down Labor's regional saturation, describing his visits as
"business as usual".
"If you go over the last six months, the last year, the years I've been premier,
you'll find I've been a very frequent visitor to every part of regional Victoria,"
he said.
"I've done that because I believe in regional Victoria, I want to see the whole
state grow, I've been out there promoting our policies."
Nationals Leader Peter Ryan said the blitz was evidence of a government in panic mode.
"I think in regional Victoria there's a strong opinion there now that the current
government has failed regional Victorians," he said.
"It's just a sign of the panic to send them out there."
Back in Melbourne, the opposition promised to open another 500 prison beds at
existing facilities but stopped short of committing to build a new jail.
The $268 million plan would expand the capacity of Victorian jails - mostly male
minimum-security prisons - by 2015 to accommodate demand to come from a planned
coalition crackdown on crime.
The coalition also announced it would introduce year-round electricity discounts for
concession card holders, saving them up to $100 a year.
Labor has promised to introduce summer concession rates on top of winter savings.
The coalition also matched Labor's promise to raise the stamp duty concession
threshold to $750,000 for seniors.
In Geelong, Mr Brumby was joined by former federal Labor prime minister Bob Hawke as
he pledged $30 million for the Geelong Performing Arts Centre and $15 million for
the Geelong Library.
In Talbot he promised up to $250,000 to upgrade the recreation reserve.