INFRASTRUCTURE Minister Catherine King has stopped Mallee councils pursuing vital infrastructure funding by announcing round 2 of Growing Regions during Victoria’s local government election caretaker period.
On August 19 I alerted Mallee councils that Growing Regions round 2 was open, notifying them that the program opened for funding on September 5 but applications would close on October 10.
The caretaker period starts on September 17, so councils effectively have less than 12 days to apply.
I am dismayed that Ms King has stranded Victorian councils by scheduling a funding round during council elections.
For months Mallee councillors have been talking with me about their preparation for caretaker mode, postponing major decisions for the next group of elected members to determine.
I call on Ms King to extend time for applications for councils affected by their election process. Otherwise, Mallee councils will miss out.
Mallee was successful in just one of the 40 Growing Regions round 1 grants, for the Swan Hill Rural City Council riverfront reinvigoration project.
However, the Coalition understands that there has been very slow progress on round 1 beginning construction.
Everywhere you look, Labor has been atrociously slow in rolling out funding to regional Australia.
Labor scrapped the Coalition’s successful $1.15 billion Building Better Regions Fund, replacing it with Growing Regions.
However, more than two years since taking office, Growing Regions projects are lagging. Regional Australia has been deprived for over two years of vital infrastructure spending, compared with five funding rounds over six years under BBRF.
Councils simply do not have their own funds to bring major infrastructure projects forward, and now thanks to the incompetence of regional Victorian minister Ms King they don’t have the time either due to council elections.
