24 March 2011
Mr MORRIS (Mornington) — I note that the previous contribution started out in the fantasy world of The Lion King and while the member for Lara came a little bit closer to the bill the fantasy line continued with absolutely zero connection to reality.
It is indeed a pleasure to speak on the Regional Growth Fund Bill 2011. I am not sure that this is going to be a particularly brief contribution; it may not go the total distance, but we will see how we go.
The Regional Growth Fund is a very important measure, because the government will have an opportunity to assist in a practical way the growth of an incredibly important sector in the state, and that is the area outside the metropolitan region. More importantly this bill is about handing back to communities the power to determine their own future. It is about giving them the foundation to create the future that they want to create.
I spoke last night at some length about the difficulties with the current form of the federation — the challenges that we face as a state and our inability to create the sort of future we want to build as a state — and it is equally important that we make sure that people within the state have the opportunity to build their own futures in a similar way. This bill is about rural and regional Victoria. It is about offering the opportunity to those regions, cities and towns across the state to grab hold of their future and build it.
One of the joys of being a member of Parliament is the opportunity it has provided me to re‑engage with rural and regional Victoria. When you are working 70, 80 or 90 hours a week, as many small business people do, you do not get outside your own patch very much unless travelling happens to be part of it — it was never part of my small business life — and you do not get to look beyond your immediate area. In contrast, as a kid growing up, I was fortunate that I had friends and family in many parts of the state and had the opportunity to engage and be familiar with the potential in the regions in those days. While it is not all that long ago it was an exciting time. We seem to have lost some of that excitement, but the potential remains.
This bill is about recognising that potential. It is about recognising the possibilities. It is about undoing some of the neglect and complete disdain for many parts of regional Victoria that we saw under the former government. Again they were the same sorts of issues that I was talking about in my contribution to the debate on the Country Fire Authority Amendment (Volunteer Charter) Bill 2011. It was about big, shiny things that could be opened and ribbons that could be cut. It was not about the things that make the difference on a day‑to‑day basis.
It was not about the important things in life, and it was not about providing the foundation and the opportunity for people to do what they wanted to do. When people have the ability to take charge of their future and to build their lives, then everyone wins. The whole community wins, whether it is their local community or the broader Victorian community.
The minister noted the intention of policy is to pursue the potential of every part of the state. That is right because we need to ensure that the entire state has the opportunity to grow, not just the major provincial cities and metropolitan area but every part of the state. That is a very important element of this bill; it is an important element of this fund. We do not have the capacity at the moment — and the Regional Infrastructure Development Fund did not have the capacity — to pursue these sorts of concerns right across the state, reaching into every community and municipality. I will come back to the local government issues.
I t has been noted that we have 25 per cent of the people, 25 per cent of the jobs and 25 per cent of the state economy outside the metropolitan area. We need to support the continued growth of the areas outside the metropolitan area. We need to ensure that we have continual development by investing in assets, services and infrastructure that are needed to power that growth.
We need to make sure the skills base is expanded.
For far too long we have seen a contraction in the skills base, including in occupations such as skilled tradesmen, doctors, dentists and medical support staff right across the state; yet current population projections suggest that over the next 40 years the population of regional and rural Victoria will grow by 40 per cent. We need to make sure that not only do we have population growth but also there is matching growth in jobs and, hopefully, better than matching growth in services.
We need to make sure not only that opportunities keep pace but also they exceed the growth, because the future of this state must be in the regions.
In a technical sense the bill will establish a trust fund in the public account called the Regional Growth Fund. By setting up that account we, as a government, are sending a very strong signal that we are strongly committed to both the economic development and community development of regional and rural Victoria.
We know the fund will be used for major strategic infrastructure and important local infrastructure; there will be 60 per cent for the strategic projects and 40 per cent for local initiatives. That is where local opportunities come in.
As anyone who has been involved in local government or at a local level knows, when you have some funding available you can often build with a bit from the council and a bit from the community. All of a sudden you have a workable parcel of funding and you can get things done.
The other aspect of this issue is that it will provide in a very real sense access to funding for the initial stages of projects and funding for planning. If you do not have the seed funding for so many of these projects then you simply do not see things come to fruition. That is an important aspect.
The bill includes transitional provisions so that aspects of the Regional Infrastructure Development Fund can be dealt with. There has been some commentary about the impact on interface councils. They are excluded, but I know the minister mentioned in his second‑reading speech — —
Mr Wynne — They are not excluded.
Mr MORRIS — The minister indicated in his second‑reading speech that the issues regarding councils in interface areas will be included. One particular example is Cardinia shire, which is one of the fastest growing municipalities in the state; it is behind Casey in this respect. Probably 80 per cent of the Cardinia shire municipality is outside the growth area and well beyond the limits of many regional areas, yet it does not qualify.
Those sorts of cases need to be addressed. Those communities are being punished because they have a small portion of their municipality inside the metropolitan growth area. It is an important issue that has to be resolved, but we must ensure that the solution applies to the appropriate area and not to the outside as well.
I indicated that I would return to the local government issue, but time is going to beat me. However, this fund will enable smaller councils to get some projects up as well. Most people are aware of the Whelan report and they are aware of the challenges. This fund will assist those things as well.
I commend the bill to the house.
Legislative Assembly 24 March 2011
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