Regional Capitals Australia board members headed to Canberra ahead of the Federal Budget and the election for face-to-face meetings with key government and shadow ministers, ministerial offices and departmental officials.
Our delegation to Parliament House in February met with:
- The Hon Catherine King MP, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government;
- The Hon Matt Thistlethwaite MP, Assistant Minister for Immigration;
- The Hon Dan Tehan MP, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship;
- The Hon Darren Chester MP, Shadow Minister for Regional Education, Shadow Minister for Regional Development, and Shadow Minister for Local Government and Territories;
- Senator the Hon Perin Davey, Shadow Minister for Water;
- Office of the Hon Clare O’Neil MP, Minister for Housing and Homelessness;
- Office of the Hon Tony Burke MP, Minister for Home Affairs, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Cyber Security, Minister for the Arts;
- Officials from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.
We provided a briefing on our federal election priorities as well as the key issues facing Regional Capitals, including:
- housing supply and the need for Federal Government investment in housing enabling infrastructure and construction skills;
- immigration and population, including adjusting regional visas to enable regional skills gaps to be filled; and
- ongoing Federal Government investment in regional development and infrastructure.
Our board will continue to meet with Federal Government decision makers as we work towards realising our Policy Priorities 2025.
