A Stronger Economy Delivering Stronger Regions 2018-19
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Regional Australia – A Stronger Economy Delivering Stronger Regions 2018-19 Statement by The Honourable Michael McCormack MP Deputy Prime Minister Minister for Infrastructure and Transport The Honourable Dr John McVeigh MP Minister for Regional Development, Territories and Local Government 8 May 2018 © Commonwealth of Australia 2018 ISBN: 978-1-925531-48-0 This publication is available for your use under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence, with the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, the images, signatures and where otherwise stated. The full licence terms are available from http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/legalcode. Use of Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities material under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence requires you to attribute the work (but not in any way that suggests that the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities endorses you or your use of the work). Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities material used 'as supplied' Provided you have not modified or transformed Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities material in any way including, for example, by changing the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities text; calculating percentage changes; graphing or charting data; or deriving new statistics from published Treasury statistics – then Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities prefers the following attribution: Source: The Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities data Derivative material If you have modified or transformed Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities material, or derived new material from those of the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities in any way, then Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities prefers the following attribution: Based on The Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities data Use of the Coat of Arms The terms under which the Coat of Arms can be used are set out on the It’s an Honour website (see www.itsanhonour.gov.au) Other uses Enquiries regarding this licence and any other use of this document are welcome at: Director – Publishing and Communications Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities GPO Box 594 Canberra ACT 2601 Australia Email: [email protected] Website: www.infrastructure.gov.au Printed by CanPrint Communications Pty Ltd FOREWORD .......................................................................................... 1 AGRICULTURE AND WATER RESOURCES ....................................... 7 NEW INITIATIVES ............................................................................................................ 8 CURRENT INITIATIVES .................................................................................................. 11 ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S .................................................................... 25 NEW INITIATIVES .......................................................................................................... 26 CURRENT INITIATIVES .................................................................................................. 27 COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS ................................................ 35 NEW INITIATIVES .......................................................................................................... 36 CURRENT INITIATIVES .................................................................................................. 36 DEFENCE ............................................................................................ 46 CURRENT INITIATIVES .................................................................................................. 48 EDUCATION AND TRAINING ............................................................. 61 NEW INITIATIVES .......................................................................................................... 61 CURRENT INITIATIVES .................................................................................................. 65 ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY .......................................................... 70 NEW INITIATIVES .......................................................................................................... 71 CURRENT INITIATIVES .................................................................................................. 73 FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE....................................................... 78 NEW INITIATIVES .......................................................................................................... 79 CURRENT INITIATIVES .................................................................................................. 82 HEALTH ............................................................................................... 90 NEW INITIATIVES .......................................................................................................... 90 CURRENT INITIATIVES .................................................................................................. 95 HOME AFFAIRS ................................................................................ 112 NEW INITIATIVES ........................................................................................................ 112 CURRENT INITIATIVES ................................................................................................ 114 HUMAN SERVICES ........................................................................... 117 NEW INITIATIVES ........................................................................................................ 117 CURRENT INITIATIVES ................................................................................................ 118 INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE ....................................... 125 NEW INITIATIVES ........................................................................................................ 125 CURRENT INITIATIVES ................................................................................................ 129 INFRASTRUCTURE, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CITIES .... 142 NEW INITIATIVES ........................................................................................................ 143 CURRENT INITIATIVES ................................................................................................ 148 JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS ........................................................ 162 NEW INITIATIVES ........................................................................................................ 162 CURRENT INITIATIVES ................................................................................................ 164 PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET .................................................... 172 NEW INITIATIVES ........................................................................................................ 172 CURRENT INITIATIVES ................................................................................................ 172 SOCIAL SERVICES ........................................................................... 183 NEW INITIATIVES ........................................................................................................ 183 CURRENT INITIATIVES ................................................................................................ 186 TREASURY ........................................................................................ 197 NEW INITIATIVES ........................................................................................................ 197 CURRENT INITIATIVES ................................................................................................ 197 VETERANS’ AFFAIRS ...................................................................... 199 NEW INITIATIVES ........................................................................................................ 200 CURRENT INITIATIVES ................................................................................................ 202 FOREWORD With a third of Australians living, working and raising their families outside our capital cities, regional Australia is at the forefront of this Government’s agenda. And with more people calling regional Australia home each year, it is clear that the growth of our nation will not all happen in the capital cities, but in our towns and regional cities. Regional Australia has long been the engine room of the economy with around 30 per cent of our annual GDP generated by our regions. Rural and regional Australia is home to the highest quality food, fibre and resources in the world and these make up 61 per cent of the goods Australia sells on the global market. Most of our iconic tourist attractions are in regional Australia and 43 cents out of every dollar spent by a tourist in Australia goes to a regional business. Australia is in its 27th year of economic growth, which has seen 415,000 jobs created in 2017. Around a third of these jobs were created in the regions. This is a great result, but we need to keep working with local communities to ensure they continue to thrive. The Liberal and Nationals Government is delivering on our vision for regional Australia. We are continuing to grow our regional economies, creating new and better paying jobs and giving families the opportunity to keep living and working in our regional