Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to stand here today and recognise the important changes brought about across my electorate over the past 12 months through the government’s Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program. The program is part of the Nation Building Economic Stimulus Plan and in round 1 it has seen more than $1 billion invested in communities across Australia since it was introduced in November 2008. The program was designed to stimulate local economies and support employment by building community projects. By providing funding, the government empowers local councils and shires to identify infrastructure projects that most benefit local communities. In my electorate, for example, nearly 40 projects received funding totalling $9,780,000 last year. These ranged in size from $5 million to upgrade facilities and amenities at the Eureka interpretive centre and $2.24 million for the construction of a multipurpose community recreation centre in Creswick, to a smaller and wonderfully diverse range of grassroots projects.

Across the Ballarat electorate we have seen footpath extensions and installations, drinking fountains installed in playgrounds, new playground equipment, resurfacing of cricket pitches, improvements to public pools and sporting facilities, improvements to public irrigation systems, and even the laying of a walking track in the township of Korweinguboora. While many of these small projects fly under the radar of media and wide public attention, we should not underestimate the power of even the smallest infrastructure improvements to have a profound effect on local communities.

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