Bush Summit 2024: The five key projects needed in regional Victoria
Victoria’s regions will face ongoing growing pains with ageing infrastructure and a booming population. And there are five key projects that are needed to be made a priority.
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Victoria’s regions will face ongoing growing pains with ageing infrastructure and a booming population.
State household projections have revealed that the regional population is expected to skyrocket from 1.7 million in 2023 to 2.3 million in 2051 with some regional towns set to double in size.
As a result, experts are calling for targeted and strong investment in key areas such as roads, freight rail, health, housing and transport.
Infrastructure Victoria, Dr Jonathan Spear, said both federal and state governments had invested in regional Victoria in recent years, but with more residents expected in the regions infrastructure across the state will need work.
“The way our state is structured means we are going to have the most people living in Melbourne.
“But it’s important we recognise regional Victorians deserve to be provided with a reasonable level of infrastructure investment to meet their needs.
“However, we know it’s harder to deliver infrastructure and services in the regions because of the sheer scale of distances and dispersion of people that are involved.”
The state has predicted the biggest regional growth areas will be Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Baw Baw and Moorabool.
While in far flung regions toward the South Australian border populations will dwindle.
“There’s always going to be that challenge for government about where to target regional infrastructure investment to give the biggest benefit and not leave regions behind,” Dr Spear said.
In 2022, Victoria’s Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) released a report into the 2021-2022 spending revealing that per person asset investment in metropolitan Melbourne was $15,268, this compared to just $7,142 in regional Victoria.
Nationals Leader Peter Walsh said he wanted to see regional Victoria not lose out when it came to investment.
“25 per cent of the population live and work in the regions but consistently only 12 or 13 per cent of the infrastructure spend is in regional Vic and that’s not investing in the whole state,” he said.
The projects we need
⁃ Western Highway duplication
The project has been hit with delays between Ararat and Buangor.
Troubled with cost blowouts, after ongoing protest action in relation to cultural heritage, the final price tag and finish date remain unknown.
⁃ Shepparton Bypass
The Albanese government was slammed by local leaders in November 2023 for cancelling stage one of the important project. Linking the Midland Highway in Mooroopna to the Goulburn Valley Highway in Shepparton North, this 36km project worth $1.3 billion will finish the duplication of the highway from Shepparton to Melbourne.
⁃ Kilmore bypass
With the population in this township set to explore to 20,000 by 2041 this project has been under investigation since at least 2008 and will see freight and through-traffic removed from local streets.
⁃ Fast rail to Geelong
This high-speed service would have delivered residents to the CBD in 32-minutes but was axed in 2023 after funding agreements between the state and federal government collapsed.
⁃ Coastal protection
With more than 2500km of coast land facing rising sea levels, communities want to see a government fund set up to fund projects to battle erosion and see potential buybacks for at risk properties.
⁃ Aboriginal tourism strategy
There are calls for the state to focus on a strategy to promote visitation to Aboriginal sites, national parks and culturally important areas to boost the regional economy and support Indigenous communities.
Infrastructure priorities
Roads
According to the Victorian Government’s assessments in 2023, regional roads users, from Gippsland to the Wimmera, are facing significant deterioration, speed restrictions and road closures.
The analysis has prompted a $6.6 billion 10-year plan to patch and repairing damage, and future-proof roads, with a major focus on regional areas.
Dr Spear said the state government has made “significant investment” but warned that more will be needed in the future.
“This money is coming at a time when some of our regional roads have been under significant pressure from the effects of climate change,” he shares.
“But we can’t do everything everywhere all at once with our roads. And so, future investment in regional roads is going to continue to be needed targeting the places where there’s the greatest benefits to safety and to helping regional economies grow.”
There’s also been significant delays in regional projects, most notably, the Western Highway.
The duplication designed to fix one of the deadliest highways in the state is over the $157 million budget and has been delayed by more than four years due to repeated issues with cultural heritage assessments.
Digital and telecommunications
Mobile and internet coverage remains poor in many places in Victoria, especially in regions prone to bushfires.
In Benalla, Shepparton and Wangaratta in the state’s north east, Victorians have reported no phone or internet coverage, hampering productivity and safety.
The Federal Government’s black spot program has promised upgrades in some Victorian locations – Gisborne South, Woodend and St Leonards on the Bellarine Peninsula – which are earmarked for improved mobile phone coverage.
The state government is also currently trying to boost connectivity with 857 new projects and upgrades currently in progress in conjunction with telecommunications companies working across the state.
Housing
Regional Victoria will play a huge role in addressing the housing crisis being faced by residents across the state.
As part of the Big Housing Build, 25 per cent of the total $5 billion program will be spent in regional Victoria – amounting to $1.25 billion across regional Victoria.
Community housing pledges with $15 million plus for affordable and social housing have been announced in Ballarat, Bendigo, Horsham, Shepparton, Geelong, Latrobe, Warrnambool and Mildura.
However, there are major concerns about ongoing roadblocks to new builds including planning holdups and rising construction costs.
Rail freight
Infrastructure to move freight across the state’s agricultural regions is a major concern for governments as well as industry.
All levels of government have pledged money to the ongoing upgrades and maintenance to the Murray Basin Rail.
But it’s not been enough with lines still plagued by speed restrictions, maintenance concerns.
Mr Walsh said the modernisation has been hit with “cost blow outs, missed deadlines and appalling contract management”.
Infrastructure Victoria had called for a long-term 30-year plan for freight rail maintenance and upgrades across the state in order to ensure the ongoing productivity of the rail corridors.
Rehabilitation centres
Social workers across the state have warned the state government need to roll out more drug and alcohol rehabilitation centres in the regions to tackle rising levels of substance abuse in regional areas.
WRAD Health CEO Mark Powell has said there was an “urgent” need for a facility in Warrnambool with the service advocating for a permanent facility in the region for more than a decade.
“It’s really important for us to have somewhere on country for people to access the services they need.”
The Victorian Government announced a $36 million specialist alcohol and drug treatment facility in Mildura in 2022 which is running behind schedule.
Expert said have also warned facilities are needed in areas like Shepparton and Western Victoria.
Regional public transport
One of the most commonly raised issues when it comes to regional living was the lack of options when it comes to public transport.
Infrastructure Victoria identifies public transit as a concern that overwhelmingly impacts mainly young and low income residents who don’t have private transport options.
Dr Spear said future governments will need to address the issue especially in regional towns set to see population booms.
“There’s certainly been improvements to regional rail services and, consistent investment over the years to improve those services,” he said.
“But it’s really striking that if you live in a Victorian regional city or the hinterland areas, there remains very limited public transit options in your local area.”
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