Wednesday, 16 October 2024

Regional infrastructure

Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (12:36): (692) My question is to the Minister for Regional Development. The last round of applications for the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund, designed to support and grow regional communities, closed at 11:59 on 17 August 2022. Minister, why has this fund been closed?

Gayle Tierney: Sorry, what fund was that?

The PRESIDENT: Minister, do you want that question repeated?

Gayle Tierney: Yes, can I have it repeated? I thought it was a different fund.

The PRESIDENT: Ms Bath, would you mind repeating the question?

Melina BATH: You need some more time? Okay. The last round of applications for the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund, designed to support and grow regional communities, closed at 11:59 on 17 August 2022. Why has this fund been closed, Minister?

Gayle TIERNEY (Western Victoria – Minister for Skills and TAFE, Minister for Regional Development) (12:37): First of all, you are talking about a grant round. Can I say from the outset that regional Victoria is a fantastic place to live, work and visit, and we will continue to listen to regional communities and back projects that matter to local families in regional communities. We will continue to do that. That is what we are doing, and it is clearly reflected in the recent funding announcement I made with the Premier last Friday, along with the local member Jaclyn Symes. This is part and parcel of what we do. We listen to the community. If there are fantastic projects that people want to put forward, whether they are councils or indeed other community organisations, we are all ears to hear, because we have spent $45 billion since 2014 in rural and regional Victoria.

In the most recent round we have made sure the contribution that goes to regional Victoria is actually more than what the population is in regional Victoria. On top of that, we have made sure that we have had that funding stream that enables us to not only house workers in regional Victoria but also improve our tourism offering so that our local communities can economically benefit from people staying in local accommodation and spending their money on food as well as the attractions. And that is exactly what we are doing with the $126 million Twelve Apostles redevelopment. We are also doing that through the Geelong City Deal for the project of the convention centre at Geelong, with $416 million. That is going to prove to be a real game changer for regional Victoria.

Melina Bath: On a point of order, President, my question specifically relates to the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund – it specifically relates to that – and the minister is not answering the question.

Harriet Shing: On the point of order, President, the minister’s first sentence literally answered the question about this being a grants process, and she has continued with context from there.

The PRESIDENT: The minister has been relevant in her answer.

Gayle TIERNEY: I will continue to talk about the fantastic investment that we continue to make in this fantastic state. We have close to $300 million over the next 12 months that we will deliver to regional Victoria, marking the portfolio’s biggest investment in recent years and particularly since the pandemic. I think that is particularly interesting to note. And it is not just in terms of Tiny Towns, it is not just in terms of RWAV; there are 650 projects that RDV is actually delivering in regional Victoria, something that we are particularly proud of.

What we have is a vision and a focus in RDV, one that is putting economic development back into regional development, that is about working with different agencies across government so that we can ensure that the best possible outcomes are delivered for regional Victoria. And we have got a close relationship with agriculture – that speaks for itself.

Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (12:41): I might share some facts with the minister. Minister, regional Victoria is home to 25 per cent of our population. Sadly, the independent Parliamentary Budget Office has confirmed that the Allan Labor government is spending 13 per cent of Victoria’s total asset investment in regional development – in regional communities, Minister. Under your watch, why do regional Victorians continue to miss out on their fair share?

Gayle TIERNEY (Western Victoria – Minister for Skills and TAFE, Minister for Regional Development) (12:41): Obviously Ms Bath was not listening to part of my answer to the substantive question. Our latest budget invests 28 per cent of place-based expenditure in our regions. That is more than what the actual population is in regional Victoria. And we will continue to make sure that regional Victorians are supported in the activities that they undertake. But more importantly, we are about making sure that we facilitate investment, and that is why I am making sure that we have people with an economic and industry background on our regional partnerships. That is why I have asked for the CEOs of our regional TAFEs to be in our regional partnerships. That is why we are making sure that Invest Victoria is very much part and parcel of what we are doing on the ground in regional Victoria, so that we can deliver exports as well as huge investments in regional Victoria that can deal with the issues that we have got today while also having a vision for the future.