Tuesday, 15 October 2019

In reply to  Mrs McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (13 August 2019)

Ms SYMES (Northern Victoria—Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Resources):

Regional Victoria is performing strongly, as evidenced by the regional unemployment rate of 3.7%. The Government’s approach to regional development recognises the importance of locally driven, place-based approaches to respond to local needs and priorities.

Our Delivering for Regional and Rural Victoria Program is investing $2.6 billion to boost regional tourism, create local jobs, underpin key industries, and provide the infrastructure and services that local communities rely on.

The program will improve public transport, country roads and TAFE facilities, and provide critical health facility upgrades across the whole state. The Program covers many portfolios, reflecting our whole-of-government approach to regional development.

Examples include:

•   $424.7 million for additional roadworks across regional Victoria to improve journey time and travel satisfaction;

•   $340 million to purchase 54 new VLocity carriages to meet the increasing demand on the regional rail network;

•   $100 million to boost the Regional Health Infrastructure Fund to enable regional health services to respond to local priorities and enhance service delivery;

•   $12.6 million to support drought-affected farmers in Wellington and East Gippsland shires; and

•   $8 million to extend the operating hours of the Phillip Island Urgent Care Centre.

This builds on our investment through the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund which has been allocated across the entire state, recognising the diversity of regional communities.

Project examples include:

•   Canning facility expansion at Burra Foods in Korumburra

•   Conservation Ecology Centre’s Wildlife Wonders project in Apollo Bay

•   Upgrading the West Sale Airport

•   Expansion of Australian Lamb in Colac

The 2019-20 Budget provided funding for the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund to continue its focus on job creation and community infrastructure in rural communities.

Aside from our investment across rural and regional Victoria, 1 am working to achieve better outcomes for regional Victorians through a whole-of-government approach to government and community priorities that cross traditional portfolio boundaries. This will deliver leverage, profile and impact to regional initiatives and service delivery.

This approach complements the role of the nine Regional Partnerships, which are the key mechanism for connecting regional priorities and regional investment opportunities directly with the Victorian Government’s decision-making processes. The Regional Partnerships have been successful in building a strong profile across rural and regional Victoria and with the support of DJPR are working to enhance its approach pf regional co-ordination by nominating a single action plan for each Regional Partnership over 2019-2020 thereby building on existing regional Partnership activities and processes, including Outcomes Roadmaps and Implementation and Monitoring Plans.