Gippsland communities stand to benefit from a significant boost in infrastructure investment under a commitment by The Nationals to ensure regional Victoria receives its guaranteed fair share of future government spending.
State Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, said while he had been able to attract funds for projects into the region from this government, it was clear the regions were not getting their fair share, and The Nationals will change that.
“Country Victoria has 25 per cent of the population, so should receive 25 per cent of the spend, but at present it is only getting 12 per cent under this city-centric government – and we will change that,” Mr Bull said.
“I’ve been happy to knock on Minister’s doors and get funding and approvals for some important projects in our region, but the reality is that across the board we have watched major funding announcements flow to Melbourne while other important local priorities have been left waiting.
“Regional communities continue to face infrastructure shortfalls in roads, health services, education facilities and community assets.
“Our commitment is simple: if regional Victoria is home to one in four Victorians, it should receive one in four dollars of new infrastructure investment.
“We have had some good wins through strong advocacy from the Gippsland Nationals team, but projects that have been talked about for years should not continually be pushed down the priority list. We deserve our fair share.
“The independent Parliamentary Budget Office highlighted the extent of the imbalance (only 12 per cent coming to the regions) and given we are all paying our taxes, we should get our share back,” Mr Bull said.
