JOBS growth, tourism and transport have been positioned at the forefront of the Andrews Government’s budget promises for regional Victoria, though long-term funding in key regional sectors appeared to be down overall.
In its first budget yesterday, the Andrews Government pledged to invest $500 million in a Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund, promising to mix up the funding for established industries like the automotive sector and emerging ones such as in “new energy” production.
A $250 million Regional Infrastructure Development Fund was also set up to support the development of new tourist attractions in regional Victoria.
The centerpiece of the budget’s contribution to farming communities, the Premier claimed, was its $220 million to the Murray Darling Basin Rail Project, but it also committed $45 million in other initiatives to “secure the future of farming families”.
These included a new $20 million “Food Source Victoria” program aimed at growing local food industries, $4 million of funding for the National Centre for Farmer Health and a $1 million investment in the Horticulture Innovation Fund,
The same amount of $45 million was presented for the vague aim of “strengthening Victoria’s water resources”, a portion of which would go into providing for the local GMW Connections irrigation infrastructure project.
The Minister for Regional Development, Jaala Pulford, said the funds for regional areas focused on getting regional cities and towns back to work.
“Dedicated regional funds will create the jobs of the future, while the TAFE Rescue Fund will ensure that kids can get the training they need for the jobs they want,” Ms Pulford said.
“More tourism means more jobs, that’s why we’re upgrading stadiums and boosting our major events sponsorship to bring more visitors to regional Victoria.”
No project in the Swan Hill region was mentioned in the preliminary information released about the budget’s investments yesterday afternoon, but local MP Peter Walsh said the district would be negatively impacted by “savage cuts” to output funding in four key regional sectors in the long term.
Forward estimates showed funding for trades would be slashed by 61.4 percent over the next few years, funding for regional development by 23.8 percent, for agriculture 11.9 percent and for road asset management 9.8 percent.
“In my view, it’s only taken one budget for the Melbourne Labor Government to abandon country Victoria,” Mr Walsh said.
“The Country Roads and Bridges Program has been cut, so that has a major impact for council road funding, and a number of programs are only funded for one year … and that creates uncertainty.”
Swan Hill Rural City Council is expected to meet today to discuss the budget’s impacts on local spending, with the local budget due to be released later this week.
For more budget coverage, grab a copy of Wednesday’s Guardian (May 6).
