Victoria needs a strong decentralisation policy to counter the decline in its regional economy, Member for South West Coast Roma Britnell says.
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Mrs Britnell was commenting on new figures from the national accounts that showed regional Victoria’s economy shrank by about one per cent in 2015-2016 financial year, the only regional economy to go backwards.
While Victoria’s regions went backwards, Melbourne’s economy grew by 4.4 per cent.
The disparity made Victoria the most centralised state in Australia, with 81 per cent of the state’s economic activity happening in Melbourne.
“These figures prove what people in rural and regional Victoria have known for a long time – governments are far too city-centric,” Mrs Britnell said.
“We have seen major businesses in regional Victoria close, or shift their focus to operating in the city,” she said.
“It all comes back to investment in infrastructure.
“In South West Coast, our roads are falling apart, our rail services are unreliable and there is inadequate power supply to farms and other manufacturers,” Mrs Britnell said.
She said the current situation at Alcoa’s Portland smelter should act as a “light bulb” moment for the government to realise the significance of regional areas to the state’s economy.
The smelter, which is a significant exporter, is currently operating at one third capacity because of damage from a power outage last week.
“We need major investment, not just band-aid solutions like lowering speeds for trains and trucks,” Mrs Britnell said.
“That decreases productivity and discourages businesses to invest in regional areas,” she said.
“Our region has huge advantages.
“It is already the leading milk producer in the country with ability for further growth.
“The ability for increased productivity with the right policies to facilitate this is enormous.” Mrs Britnell said.