By Charlene Gatt
LEADWEST CEO Anton Mayer has expressed disappointment that the West missed out on a slice of the $150 million Regional Development Australia Fund pie.
Mr Mayer, who advocates strongly for development across the West, said he was confused by the distribution of funding.
He was particularly frustrated that Geelong City Council received $10 million towards the Skilled Stadium redevelopment and $10 million for the new Geelong Library and Heritage Centre when no money went towards areas like Wyndham and Melton, the fastest growing areas in the country.
“No areas of metropolitan Australia got a look-in – all the money went to the bush, basically,” Mr Mayer said.
“It stands the risk of ignoring the real infrastructure challenges that outer metropolitan areas, particularly in Melbourne’s North and West, face.
“I don’t begrudge a hospital or a library being built, but it stands the real risk of an opportunity lost to really try and use some of this money towards some really important community infrastructure projects in the rapidly growing urban fringes of Melbourne.
“It was particularly frustrating because we’ve got all this growth taking place in the outer West and I think there would have been a real opportunity, not for big tickets items, but say $1 million for a library.
“It just seems to be overlooked in the whole scheme of things.”
The Australian Government has allocated almost $1 billion to the Regional Development Australia Fund to support the infrastructure needs and economic growth of Australia’s regions.
The national program is designed to leverage Commonwealth, State, local government, private and not-for-profit investments for the long-term benefit of communities.
Round two of the RDAF program will be valued at $150 million, with applications to open in November this year.
