General News
25 October, 2022
Regions lag, says Grimley
An independent Parliamentary Budget report has showed that regional Victoria receives 19 per cent less per person, than their Metropolitan counterparts when it comes to asset investment from government, according to Western Victorian Region MP...
An independent Parliamentary Budget report has showed that regional Victoria receives 19 per cent less per person, than their Metropolitan counterparts when it comes to asset investment from government, according to Western Victorian Region MP Stuart Grimley.
He said that the same report 12 months ago showed the gap was 11 per cent per person.
Within just one year that gap between asset investment had ballooned out by another eight per cent, further expanding the inequality between regional and metropolitan Victoria. The report highlights many differences in the two areas including that of existing spends and new spends from the 2022-23 Budget.
Breaking the spending down per person in each area, metropolitan Victorians receive $18,447.9 in asset infrastructure spending whereas regional Victorians receive just $15,459.5 per person. The contrast from the report published last year is stark. In the 2021 report, metropolitan Victorians received $17,100 per person in infrastructure spending, where regional Victorians received $15,351 per person. Regional Victorians getting a raise of $108 per person, while metropolitan Victorians receiving $1,347 per person extra.
Furthermore, the report doesn’t include other already committed projects, as their exact costs have not been mentioned in the Budget. These projects include, the Suburban Rail Loop, Melbourne Airport Rail, the North-East Link and more. These major infrastructure projects are all in metropolitan Victoria, once again widening the gap of inequality.
Mr Grimley and Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party are continuing the fight for equal funding for regional Victorians. Living in regional Victoria should not be a disadvantage. Every Victorian should have equality of opportunity no matter where they live.
Mr Grimley said: “It is no surprise that people living in Melbourne are getting a bigger share of the pie when it comes to government asset investment. But there shouldn’t be such a big difference in the funding share. For a government that grandstands on fairness and equality, you would think that they would ensure regional Victoria fair and equal funding.
"What really makes me angry about this report is that not only are we getting left behind in the regions, but we are also being completely forgotten about. The major projects that haven’t been added in this report are mostly in Melbourne as well. There seems to be very little planning for our us. For example, the Wimmera hasn’t had a passenger rail service for almost 30 years. Yet when I asked the government to reinstate it, they said it would cost too much. Then they go ahead announce a $55 billion suburban rail loop. Where is the fairness in that?
“Regional Victorian’s aren’t asking for handouts for the sake of it, our roads are crumbling, our transport infrastructure is completely inadequate, and our larger towns are in need of some love and attention. I’m calling on all sides of politics to end this horrendous inequality in our state.