Sam Birrell (Nicholls, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. After two years and three budgets, the minister is yet to announce a single regional grant funded by Labor's centrepiece regional development program. The government's own time line for the Growing Regions Program from the October '22 budget states that successful grant recipients must start their projects no later than today, 15 May, but 18 months on the minister hasn't even announced a single successful recipient. Why has Labor abandoned regional Australia?

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank very much the member for Nicholls for that question. In this budget we are delivering billions of dollars in new infrastructure investment right the way across this country, including in our regions. In your home state of Victoria, we are putting a $150 million into the Maroona to Portland rail line, something that those opposite have been talking about for ages. I know the member for Wannon is going to say, 'Thank you very much for that investment,' because that is a project that is incredibly important to regional Australia.

We are also delivering over a billion dollars in our election commitments—construction underway—in projects across the country in our regions. I have finalised the assessments for the Growing Regions Program and the regional partnerships program and I look forward to making announcements shortly.