May 25, 2017
Applications for grants under the Wide Bay Burnett Regional Jobs and Investment Packages (RJIP) program will open on May 31.
The date was jointly announced by Regional Development Minister Fiona Nash, Member for Wide Bay Llew O’Brien, Member for Flynn Ken O’Dowd and Member for Hinkler Keith Pitt on Thursday.
“I thank the Wide Bay Burnett Local Planning Committee for their hard work. Their plan is based on local knowledge of the Wide Bay Burnett region,” Minister Nash said.
“The Wide Bay Burnett Local Investment Plan will ensure that projects funded align with local priorities.
“This is a great opportunity for the communities of the Wide Bay Burnett to submit applications for key projects that will boost the local economy and create jobs.
“I aim to help build the kinds of communities our children and grandchildren either want to stay in or come back to, and investing in sustainable local jobs does just that.”
Mr O’Brien said the opening of applications for the program delivered a key election commitment.
“The Wide Bay Burnett Region has a historically high unemployment rate, which this program is designed to tackle,” Mr O’Brien said.
“This program targets funding to where jobs are created, to business and organisations to invest in projects to grow and boost jobs.
“Now that the Local Investment Plan is done, applications from the Wide Bay Burnett region can roll in, including from businesses who can apply to the Business Innovation stream.”
Mr O’Dowd said the Federal Government’s aim was to create more jobs and export opportunities.
“We aim to harness the broad range of skills in Wide Bay Burnett to create more jobs, and I look forward to seeing what applications are put forward,” he said.
Mr Pitt said the Coalition was investing in regional Australia because it understood that the cities cannot exist without the regions which supply cities with their water, food, electricity and gas.
“This will provide the Wide Bay Burnett region with a much-needed $20 million shot in the arm,” Mr Pitt said.
Funding will be available across three streams:
- Local Infrastructure
- Business Innovation, and
- Skills and Training.
For more information and to read more about the Local Investment Plan for Wide Bay Burnett visit the Regional Jobs and Investment Package website
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The State Government released the latest jobless figures for the Wide Bay-Burnett region on Thursday.
The overall unemployment rate fell from 9.5 per cent in March to 9.3 per cent in April. Youth unemployment fell 0.8 per cent to 23.9 per cent, still the second highest regional rate in Queensland.
