Tuesday, 17 October 2023

Rural and regional planning

Rikkie-Lee TYRRELL (Northern Victoria) (21:46): (503) My adjournment matter today is for the Minister for Planning. With the slowing of the economy statewide, it is encouraging to see regional projects like VHM’s rare earth and mineral sands project gaining traction. Construction and operations are expected to generate more than $2.1 billion to the local Loddon Mallee economy and an additional $1.4 billion to the Victorian economy. Throughout its projected 20-to-30-year life span the Goschen project is likely to create an initial 250 construction jobs, then an additional 400 jobs once it is fully operational. While this is obviously fantastic news, it places significant challenges on regional growth areas. As I am sure the minister can imagine, with the current housing availability crisis these much-needed projects are further exacerbating the demand for residential housing in regional areas. We have many industries that require the supporting regions to undergo urgent rezoning. To allow local councils to open up more land for much-needed development, I am requesting that the minister take much-needed, decisive action to expedite the rezoning process.