October 24, 2022
Member for Maranoa David Littleproud has slammed a Federal Government decision to axe Round 6 of the Building Better Regions Fund (BBRF).
The news, to be confirmed in this week’s Budget, was announced by Regional Development Minister Catherine King on Monday.
Also scrapped has been the Community Development Grants (CDG) program.
Nationals leader Mr Littleproud said the decisions were a devastating blow to regional and rural communities.
“Labor needs to tell our hard-working regional and rural communities why it’s putting its city mates before regional and rural Australia,” Mr Littleproud said.
But Minister King said the two programs were being replaced.
She said Tuesday’s Budget would include $1 billion in funding over three years for two new programs: the Growing Regions Program and the regional Precincts and Partnerships Program.
“The Growing Regions Program will provide new opportunities for regional local councils and not-for-profit organisations through an annual open, competitive grants process,” she said.
“The regional Precincts and Partnerships Program will provide a strategic, nationally consistent mechanism for funding and co-ordinating larger-scale projects that transform a place, to benefit communities in regional cities and wider rural and regional Australia.”
Minister King said the Australian National Audit Office had found that BBRF grants favoured National Party electorates and were not awarded on the basis of merit.
But Mr Littleproud said it was hypocritical of Labor to accuse the Nationals of pork-barrelling “when we already know this Budget is all about helping the re-election campaign of (the) Victorian Premier”.
“It’s hardly startling that most of the money for a regional program went to Nationals-held seats. It’s a regional fund and we are the party that represents regional Australia,” he said.
Ms King said contracted projects under the CDG program would be honoured.
A further 82 projects that date back to 2016 and that are yet to be contracted will have six months to finalise negotiations before the program ends.
South Burnett projects previously supported by the Building Better Regions Fund include the Kingaroy Transformation Project, Murgon’s fossil museum and cultural centre, the development of a South Burnett Agriculture Strategy, disability-friendly aged care units in Blackbutt, support for the Red Earth Community Foundation for workshops and to produce a Burnett Inland Futures Strategy, new toilets and showers at Goomeri Showgrounds, the Yarraman Finish Line Festival, upgrades at the Wondai Art Gallery, BaconFest and the Kilkivan Great Horse Ride.
