Infrastructure Minister Catherine King has stranded Mallee Councils from pursuing vital infrastructure funding by announcing Growing Regions round 2 during Victoria’s local government election caretaker period, Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster said today.

“On 19 August I alerted Mallee councils that Growing Regions Round 2 is open, notifying them that the program opened for funding on 5 September but would close to applications on 10 October. The caretaker period starts on 17 September, so Councils effectively have less than 12 days to apply,” Dr Webster said.

“I am dismayed that Minister King has stranded Victorian councils by scheduling a Growing Regions funding round during council elections. For months Mallee councillors have been talking with me about their preparation for caretaker mode, postponing major decisions for the next group of elected members to determine.

“I call on Minister King to extend time for applications for councils affected by their election process. Otherwise, Mallee Councils will miss out.”

Mallee was successful in just 1 of the 40 Growing Regions Round 1 grants, for the Swan Hill Rural City Council approved for their riverfront reinvigoration project.

However, the Coalition understands that there has been very slow progress on Round 1 beginning construction.

“Everywhere you look Labor have been atrociously slow in rolling out funding to regional Australia.  Labor scrapped the Coalition’s successful $1.15 billion dollar Building Better Regions Fund (BBRF), replacing it with Growing Regions. However, more than 2 years since taking office, Growing Regions projects are lagging.  Regional Australia has been deprived for over 2 years of vital infrastructure spending, compared with 5 funding rounds over 6 years under BBRF,” Dr Webster said.

“Councils simply do not have their own funds to bring major infrastructure projects forward, and now thanks to the incompetence of regional Victorian Minister King they don’t have the time either due to council elections.”