Regional Capitals Australia (RCA) has welcomed investment in key manufacturing and skills programs as part of the 2024-25 Federal Budget.
RCA Chair Cr Kylie King said the Budget included important funding programs such as the $1.7 billion Future Made Australia Innovation Fund and 15,000 Fee Free TAFE and VET places as well as 5000 places in pre-apprenticeship programs to increase housing supply.
“Regional Australia has a continuing role as the heart of manufacturing in Australia. Our communities will continue to play their part advancing Australia’s capabilities in this area,” Cr King said.
“Regional communities are, however, suffering from the lack of housing, we know that one of the big bottlenecks to this challenge is the lack of qualified trades, investing in this area is an important measure for our communities,” Cr King said.
The Budget also confirmed already announced programs to address the decline of regional roads, including the top up of Roads to Recovery (now a total of $1 billion investment) and the establishment of the $200 million New Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program. A new allocation of $32 million Road Trauma package was included to address road safety awareness.
The Government has also begun the process of addressing challenges in water security in regional areas with an almost $175 million in new investment for regional water projects.
Cr King however noted that while investment into re-establishing the Regional Airports Program was very welcome, the commitment of $40 million over three years was not expected to meet the growing demand on local government to bridge the infrastructure and service gap.
“Investment in these important and hardworking community facilities is fundamental to the success of regions, particularly at a time when regional aviation was still experiencing broad reliability issues,” Cr King said.
“We look forward to working with the Federal Government to identify further opportunities to invest in the regions particularly as the government releases their Aviation White Paper later this year,” Cr King explained.
“We acknowledge that building a Budget is a balancing act particularly when communities and businesses are under a significant level of stress from cost of living issues, this Budget is a reflection of this task,” Cr King concluded.
Key initiatives announced that impact regional capital cities include:
Manufacturing
- $1.7 billion for the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund: supporting innovation and pre-commercial activities in Future Made in Australia eligible priority sectors.
Communications
- $1.2 billion (2024-25) for NBN Co’songoing fibre upgrade program.
Rail
- $540 million for the Australian Rail Track Corporation’s interstate freight rail network; and
- $100 million for the Kalgoorlie in Western Australia and Tarcoola in South Australia rail line upgrade.
Roads
- $500 million (additional) for Roads to Recovery per year in funding taking this to $1 billion per year (already announced);
- $200 million for the Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program per year (already announced); and
- $32 million for a Road Trauma Package to improve road safety awareness.
Airports
- $40.0 million for the Regional Airports Program for infrastructure upgrades over three years from 2024-25.
Health
- $227 million for 29 (additional) Medicare Urgent Care clinics and boost support for clinics in regional and remote Australia;
- $17.4 million (2024-25) for primary health and support services in thin markets in rural and regional areas; and
- $21 million (2024-25) for Primary Health Networks to continue the Targeted Regional Initiative for Suicide Prevention.
Active Transport
- $100 million for a new national Active Transport Fund.
Skills and Employment
- $62.4 million for 15,000 Fee-Free TAFE and VET places over two years from 1 January 2025; and
- $26.4 million for 5,000 places in pre-apprenticeship programs over two years from 1 January 2025.
Water
- $119.6 million for water security projects over 4 years;
- $20.7 million for ten new water infrastructure projects in regional and remote First Nations communities; and
- $34.3 million for 22 research projects and business cases to better understand Australia’s water resources.
Arts and Culture
- $8.6 million (2024-25) to support Australian live music venues and festivals, supporting small-to-medium sized live music venues and festivals across Australia.