Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Services, Local Communities and Territories) Share this | Hansard source

My apologies, Deputy Speaker. Is the shadow member saying that there were no area consultative committees in city areas? I have a recollection that there were five area consultative committees covering the area of Melbourne and that they put in applications under the Regional Partnerships programs—and, I think, were successful. I have a vague recollection too of an inner Sydney area getting support under the Regional Partnerships program—for a project on a beach.

I cannot believe that the shadow minister, who is purporting to be the developer of regional development policy for the opposition, does not seem to understand regional development. Let me go to one particular project announced out of round 4 of the Regional Development Australia Fund which was raised by the shadow minister—the project in Werribee. I do not know whether you have ever visited Werribee, but let me suggest to you that you might want to do that. When I was in Werribee with the Prime Minister announcing that RDAF round 4 project, I was delighted to meet the lovely mayor, Heather, who is from there. She was originally born in my electorate in Trawalla, where Jim Scullin was born—I am very proud to have that association. She talked about how Werribee was a town of 8,000 people when she first moved there. It is, and was always viewed as, a country town. My sister moved there 20 years ago. It is a tiny country town. It has faced enormous population growth, which is terrific.

Opposition members interjecting—

I am glad that you have been there. So you know that Werribee is a country town which has faced enormous pressure from population growth exploding out of Melbourne. The community had a tiny basketball stadium which was servicing a huge population. The opportunity to make that a regional sporting facility, a centre for basketball for the west of Victoria, is a terrific opportunity.

Again I say to the shadow minister: you clearly do not understand regional development. It is not just about regional provincial cities; it is also about regions and regional areas that cover a whole raft of areas. I know, having been in this area for a while, that the shadow minister is committed to making sure that we have good policy across our regions. I remind the shadow minister that, under the Regional Partnerships program, you did fund a whole raft of projects—some of which were successful and some of which were questionable, to be quite honest, particularly those in the private sector—and perhaps you might want to reflect on that when you ask a question. (Time expired)

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