1996-97 Commonwealth Budget Papers

REBUILDING REGIONAL AUSTRALIA

STATEMENT BY
THE HONOURABLE JOHN SHARP, M.P.,
MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
20 AUGUST 1996

© Commonwealth of Australia 1996

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REBUILDING REGIONAL AUSTRALIA

Corrigendum:

Replace the following paragraph:

• an $11 million expansion of access to the Special Broadcasting Service network to a further eight regional areas by 1999;

with:

• an $11 million expansion of access to the Special Broadcasting Service network to a further five regional areas by 1999;

Replace the following sentence:

Access to broadcasting services for rural areas wil be improved by the expansion of the Special Broadcasting Service network into a further eight regional areas over the next three years.

with

Access to broadcasting services for rural areas wil be improved by the expansion of the Special Broadcasting Service network into a further five regional areas over the next three years.

OVERVIEW

The Liberal-National Government’s priority on families and small business is central to its commitment to regional Australia. It is based on the need to encourage and enhance the development of regions and to improve the standard of living of all Australians — no matter where they live. The Government’s ambitious economic reform agenda will maximise both the potential of regions and the benefits they can derive from these reforms.

The Coalition Government has not simply sat idly as regional Australia continued to suffer from neglect. It has implemented real measures to benefit regional Australia. In just six months, the Coalition has announced a new extended drought package, a more sensible forest package giving both jobs and environmental protection, maintained the Diesel Fuel Rebate Scheme, held the rural Finance Summit and cut the rate of provisional tax. This Budget continues the pace.

The Budget contains a number of important initiatives for regional Australia. The highlights include:

• less pressure on interest rates for families and small business through a major effort to reduce the Budget deficit;
• a $1 billion family tax initiative which will give families more choice about work and parenting;
• a $150 million per annum reduction in capital gains tax for small business to provide incentive to invest and to employ;
• $450 per annum assistance for families to take out private health insurance;
• a new $148 million Road Safety Black Spot programme to improve roads, 50 per cent of which will be spent on rural roads;
• the Supermarket to Asia Strategy to develop new markets for food exports;
• $30 million to maintain core environmental and natural resource programmes in 1996 97 pending the partial sale of Telstra;
• an additional $49 million to accelerate Regional Forest Agreements;
• a $1.6 million increase in assistance to isolated families under the Assistance for Isolated Children scheme;
• restoration of CSIRO funding;
• an $11 million expansion of access to the Special Broadcasting Service network to a further eight regional areas by 1999;
• a $90 million extension of drought assistance;
• a cooperative joint venture to help rural and remote communities establish credit unions;
• an integrated shopfront for services provided by the Departments of Social Security and Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs;
• the lodgement of Medicare claims through selected pharmacies;
• an information and counselling support service for families and young people;
• an enhanced focus on facilitating major projects in regions, including the establishment of a Ministerial Working Group on Regional Affairs;
• the development of six University departments of rural health; and
• a $20 million reduction in FBT on remote area housing.

The value of these initiatives is not measured in their cost alone but in the contribution they make to the economic prosperity of regions and the quality of life of their communities.

The Commonwealth has a clear and valuable role to play in enhancing the prosperity of regional Australia. This role derives from its responsibilities for national economic management, its leadership role in economic reforms, and the need to ensure that its policies and programmes meet the needs of regions.

The Government’s strategy for regional Australia will maximise our regions’ potential by:

• ensuring that regional communities have the support and services they need;
• building an environment where businesses have the flexibility, cost structure and incentive to invest and grow;
• getting the economy working so there are fewer constraints on sustained growth; and
• providing a sound basis for development through better management of the land, water and resources and by providing greater investment opportunities in regional Australia by addressing the causes of economic uncertainty.

The complete Ministerial Statement Rebuilding Regional Australia is available to download in both Word 6 and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) formats.