South Gippsland Shire Council Submission to Senate Economic References Committee Inquiry into the indicators of, and impact of regional inequality in Australia

Background on South Gippsland South Gippsland Shire is located 90 minutes south east of Melbourne. It has a population of 29,000 and an area of 3,300 square kilometres with substantial coastal frontage. It is best known as the location of Wilsons Promontory National Park.

Its major centres are Leongatha, Korumburra, Mirboo North and Foster. Other significant townships include Nyora, Loch, Poowong, Kongwak, Koonwarra Meeniyan, Dumbalk, Tarwin Lower, Venus Bay, Sandy Point, Port Franklin, Fish Creek, Toora, Welshpool and Port Welshpool.

South Gippsland has over 7,000 businesses contributing to an annual output of over $3.2 billion. The economy is significantly focussed on agriculture and is one of the key centres of dairy production in Australia.

Submission South Gippsland Shire has a strong, resilient and enterprising community. This is evidenced by strong community participation in events and projects and a very high rate of volunteerism, which at 29.3 per cent is significantly above the Victorian average of 17.7 per cent.

However, there are a number of challenges that areas similar to South Gippsland face in order to provide services in an equitable, cost-effective manner that minimises disadvantage. These include:

• A physically large area (approximately the size of greater Adelaide) but with the population dispersed widely across the Shire in a large number of towns and rural areas.

• The capacity to service these 28 towns with diverse needs and infrastructure requirements on a constrained funding base and 2 per cent rate cap. This is exacerbated by a growing tree/sea-change population with different – often unrealistic – expectations about service levels.

• Maintenance of a road network of over 2,000 kilometres, much of which is critical to support our agricultural industries.

• More than one million visitors per year, which places considerable stress on infrastructure, particularly in our coastal towns during the summer period.

• Geographical challenges of a very diverse landscape that ranges from the hills to the sea and has a very high rainfall.

• Susceptibility to natural disasters that have included major bushfires and floods but more regularly, significant storm events.

• Fewer options for students at post-secondary education levels and some difficulties for employers seeking staff with the necessary skills.

• Attracting and retaining skilled professionals – both for employment within regional LGAs and in the wider community – is an ongoing challenge. Residents who need to procure the services of those in specialist positions are often required to travel further (and/or wait longer) than their municipal counterparts.

• Tele-commuting and access to professional services via the internet is not an option in the many areas in which data speeds are slow and unreliable. Many areas are still yet to connect to the NBN, and others are reliant on the less- than-ideal satellite service.

• Increasing transport costs are and will continue to be an issue when regional municipalities are trying to broaden their employment bases. The expense of getting goods to highly centralised marketplaces puts regional businesses at an ongoing disadvantage.

• Limited public transport options, particularly intra-town services.

• Municipalities serviced by existing rail corridors across Victoria seem to be at a relative advantage to those without trains. For example, Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong and West Gippsland/Latrobe Valley have all become attractive to both businesses and new residents as the railway service provides an efficient and viable option to the road network.

• A small rates base and an increasingly competitive environment for grant funding, which is making it difficult for smaller shires to compete. While a somewhat circular argument, the larger LGAs are in a position to employ more staff, often with very particular roles. This contributes to their grant- seeking activities and therefore to their relative success in this area, compounding the issues for regional municipalities.

• The Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage (SEIFA) for South Gippsland is 990, below the Victorian average. It is considerably lower in certain locations such as the Korumburra district, which has a SEIFA index of 742.2.

Mitigating these factors are a strong spirit of collaboration among Local, State and Federal government agencies, industry and community bodies to find innovative solutions to these challenges. A significant rollout of infrastructure across the Shire, notably in roads, telecommunications and schools has also assisted to reduce disadvantage.

While this is an overview of the issues affecting municipalities like South Gippsland, Council would be interested in presenting more details on these matters if the Committee conducts regional hearings. In particular, Council would like to expand on potential causes of inequality between regions, especially between capital cities and regional areas, and on what policy settings could help address this inequality.