On Tuesday, shadow parliamentary secretary to the leader of the opposition, Tim Smith, hosted a population policy task force event in Warrnambool to hear from the region’s leaders.

With the state’s population set to surpass 10 million by 2051, Mr Smith said he believed regional areas needed to harness the growth.

“There is a huge opportunity for country Victoria to get involved in this huge population growth that we haven’t seen since the gold rush,” Mr Smith said.

“The question we ask is,’how do we take the pressure off Melbourne and grow country Victoria?’”

“How do we decentralise Victoria?”

Mr Smith said public transport and incentives for jobs and growth were key issues that needed to be addressed across the state – including in the south-west.

The MP called the state government’s proposal for investing $1.45 billion in regional rail a “faux package” and said the opposition would do things properly.

“We are going around the state and hearing legitimately what people are saying and thinking, not just writing it out on the back of a beer coaster then sending it off somewhere else.” Mr Smith said.

Mr Smith said meeting people across the state would inform the Liberal National policies on infrastructure, including rail and roads.

He said he had received a lot of feedback on the need to improve travel times between Geelong and Melbourne, which would have a flow-on effect for the region.

Other issues examined at the meeting included recognising the importance of long-term planning, finding a balance between growth and protecting agriculture, investing in rail and roads and encouraging job creation.

Ideas to bolster the future of the south-west raised by attendees included making the region specialise in aged care, decentralising government departments and enticing young people to stay.

Visit vicpopulation.com.au to have your say on the future of Victoria.