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Regional Australia: Making a Difference

Economic and Business Development

Regional infrastructure

Roads

A network of national roads connecting `inland ports', railheads and rural manufacturing centres with cities and coastal ports - and the efficient operation of heavy transport vehicles between them - is the centrepiece of the Federal Government's land transport budget initiatives. This strategy recognises that the community is seeking transport efficiency as an essential part of the process of structural adjustment, improved productivity and resource allocation across the national economy. As well as freight networks, the strategy reinforces the importance of roads to tourism and modern lifestyles that demand a high degree of mobility.

The total budget allocation for roads for 2000-01 is more than $1.3 billion, $858.9 million of this involving direct spending by the Federal Government. In recognition of the importance of transport infrastructure to regional and rural Australia, 90 per cent of the Federal Government's direct spending on roads in 2000-01 will be allocated to non-urban roads. A further $406.4 million will be provided to councils throughout Australia for local roads, and $41 million towards the Road Safety Black Spot Programme.

Higher mass limits

The Federal Government has introduced higher mass limits for vehicles registered under the Federal Interstate Registration Scheme and fitted with `road-friendly' suspensions. The new limits vary with axle configuration, but for the most common long-distance truck-a six-axle semi-trailer-the mass limit has increased from 42.5 tonnes to 45.5 tonnes.

The reform will bring down export costs and means fewer vehicles will be required to perform the road freight task. It will also encourage a shift to latest-technology vehicles with better safety and environmental performance. When combined with diesel fuel rebates, the cost of road transport will fall, with resultant savings being made in production costs and the prices of goods to communities far removed from places of importation or manufacture.

The National Road Transport Commission has estimated that higher mass limits, when fully implemented, will add $840 million to gross domestic product annually, with more than $500 million of that being benefits to consumers.

Bridges

All States except New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory have allowed higher mass limits onto the National Highway, and the Australian Capital Territory is expected to agree when two bridges on the network within the Territory are strengthened. The Federal Government is building on this initiative by allocating additional money for bridge strengthening, including $30 million over four years for structures on roads other than the National Highway. The Federal Government has agreed that it will fully fund any bridge upgrades on the National Highway and has made commitments to funding some bridges on other high-priority freight routes.

In addition, a separate $44 million Murray River Bridges Programme will be rolled out over several years, starting in 2000-01, using money from the Centenary of Federation Fund. The Federal contribution will go towards the cost of new bridges over the Murray River at Corowa, Echuca and Robinvale.

Port roads

Plans to upgrade access roads to Australia's major ports under a joint funding programme with participating States worth $543.5 million will be continued. The Federal Government contribution is $202.7 million over four financial years.

The `port links' objectives include improving the safety and efficiency of selected port roads; opening these routes to high mass-limit vehicles, thereby reducing transport costs for goods moved by road; strengthening the inter-connectivity of port roads with the 18,500 kilometre National Highway and Roads of National Importance; and improving Australia's export competitiveness internationally.

The roads to be funded under this element of the Commonwealth Roads Programme are:

• the Melbourne-Geelong Road: $120 million towards its $240 million widening to eight lanes between Werribee and Melbourne and six lanes between Werribee and Geelong;


• the Port of Brisbane Road: a $44.6 million contribution to the $151.3 million transport infrastructure component of the Gateway Port Precinct project;


• construction of the new Gillman Highway serving the Port of Adelaide: an $18.5 million contribution to this $125 million project;


• the Port of Devonport Road (completed): $1.1 million towards the $2.2 million cost of a new port access to the Spirit of Tasmania ferry terminal and roll-on roll-off cargo facilities at East Devonport;


• the Port of Gladstone Road: $6 million towards the proposed $15 million cost of a new port access adjacent to the existing railway line through town; and


• Portsmith Road serving the Port of Cairns, Queensland Rail's Far North Queensland freight depot and sections of the Cairns central business district. It carries 19,000 vehicles per day. The last two-lane sections of Portsmith Road are being duplicated at a cost of $10 million.

National Highway

The National Highway passes through 21 cities and towns with a sea port, and has links to an estimated 56 commuter airports in regional Australia. It is also a major service provider to the rest of regional Australia. In addition to the capital cities, the National Highway joins 75 towns with a population greater than 10,000 people, and numerous smaller communities. It is the major inter-capital highway network. These roads include the Hume and New England highways in New South Wales, the Hume and Western highways in Victoria, the Bruce, Warrego and Cunningham highways in Queensland and the Stuart, Dukes and Sturt highways in South Australia. Funding for this network in all States during 2000-01 is $710.2 million.

Roads of National Importance

In 2000-01, the Federal Government will contribute a further $148.7 million to its Roads of National Importance Programme, under which it is investing jointly with the States and Territories in road projects worth a total of $4.72 billion. Roads of National Importance include the Pacific Highway, the Great Western Highway, Geelong Road, the Calder Highway, the Goldfields Highway, Perth's Mitchell Freeway and Main Road 92.

Local roads

Local councils throughout Australia will receive $406.4 million in untied grants for improvements to local roads that are their direct financial responsibility.

Road Safety Black Spot Programme

A further $41 million will be spent in 2000-01 eliminating approximately 400 crash `black spots'. Since its introduction in the 1996-97 Budget, the Road Safety Black Spot Programme has provided $146 million for 1,502 projects.

About half of the funds allocated have been, and will, continue to be for safety-orientated projects in regional areas. This is in recognition of the high level of road trauma in regional and rural Australia.

Commonwealth Roads Programme targets

The Commonwealth Roads Programme is on target to deliver these outcomes by 2006:

• construction of a four-lane divided highway over much of the distance between Melbourne and Noosa;


• re-alignment of the Hume Highway into Melbourne;


• a start on providing six lanes for the Bruce Highway north of Brisbane to Caboolture, and upgrading of the Pacific Highway south of the city;


• an upgraded Federal Highway to provide a continuous four-lane road between Sydney and Canberra by August 2000;


• new port roads or upgrading of existing accesses between Melbourne and Geelong and to the ports of Brisbane, Adelaide, Gladstone, Cairns, Darwin and Devonport;


• elimination of all narrow sealed sections along the National Highway in rural Australia, and opening up of most of the rural National Highway network to unimpeded access by freight-efficient heavy transport;


• fast, efficient heavy-vehicle access from Toowoomba and the Darling Downs to Darwin along a more reliable route offering greater flood immunity;


• elimination of 80 per cent of remaining flood-prone bridges on the National Highway that are considered below acceptable standard, with special emphasis on northern Australia;


• reconstruction of sections of the Summerland Way in northern New South Wales;


• continuous upgrading of the Eyre Highway, which links Perth with eastern Australia across the Nullarbor Plain;


• a sealed road will have been built linking Kalgoorlie with the Pilbara Region of Western Australia, thus ending a 1,000 kilometre detour for heavy vehicles via Perth;


• an upgraded Kidman Way to provide sealed road access on the most direct land access between the Riverina foodbowl and Darwin-Australia's Gateway to Asia;


• a reduced annual road toll; and


• elimination of an estimated 1,000 crash black spots on Australian roads.

Greater capacity of States and Territories to deliver on roads

The revised Commonwealth-State financial relations applying from 1 July 2000 give the States a greater say in their expenditure programmes. All revenue raised from the new Goods and Services Tax will go to the States. Prior to the new tax system, States received untied grants from which they could fund State Arterial roads. Goods and Services Tax revenue will replace these untied grant funds. The revenue base will grow as the economy grows and States will have an enhanced capacity to meet their road-funding responsibilities from their new revenue source.

Rail

The Federal Government is at the half-way point in its four-year investment programme for the mainline standard gauge track, and is supporting feasibility studies into a Melbourne-Brisbane inland freight railway and the Sydney-Canberra Very High Speed Train.

Alice Springs to Darwin railway

The rail sector, and reliant industries in South Australia and the Northern Territory, will receive a huge boost from construction of the Alice Springs - Darwin railway. The project, costing more than $1 billion, will generate 7,000 jobs during the three-year construction phase.

The Government has committed $100 million from the Centenary of Federation Fund and an additional $65 million towards the railway, which is to be built and operated by a private consortium. The 2000-01 Budget allocation for the project is $40 million.

The railway has the potential for opening new export markets to Asia for food and goods produced in rural Australia. The railway is also expected to generate employment and opportunities for Australian industry in regional areas.

$250 million mainline track investment

A sum of $46.9 million has been allocated to the programme in 2000-01. This will be spent upgrading track in Western Australia, and in ensuring a greater market share for rail on the Melbourne to Sydney corridor.

Spending under the programme has been carefully targeted, and has already delivered significant transit time reductions and axle-load and train-length increases to the network. When combined with other federal rail reform initiatives, the track improvements will significantly improve the efficiency of rail transport, thereby reducing freight costs for people in rural and remote areas.

Other rail investments

Five million dollars has been allocated to upgrade rail infrastructure in Tasmania, with $1 million from the 2000-01 Budget. The programme is in its final year and is expected to contribute to enhanced rail operations in Tasmania, especially its competitiveness.

The Government has also committed $20.5 million from the Centenary of Federation Fund to restore the original Abt Railway between Queenstown and Strahan on Tasmania's West Coast. The 2000-01 Budget allocation for this project is $9 million. This capital investment is expected to contribute to economic growth through new investment and tourism opportunities, as well as boosting employment on Tasmania's west coast.

The Government has contributed $300,000 towards a pre-feasibility study of an inland railway between Melbourne and Brisbane, to be carried out by the Australian Transport and Energy Corridor Limited. The Government is committed to working with private consortia to facilitate this project, which is the first stage of the Melbourne to Darwin inland railway proposal. The project has the potential to provide new economic opportunities for regional Australia, boosting regional employment and enabling access to more competitive freight rates for regional industries.

Airports

The Government is providing $7 million for the upgrade of Rockhampton Airport, $1 million in 1999-2000 and $6 million in 2000-01. The airport's runway extension has now been opened, with the final stage of the upgrade likely to be completed in June this year.

The upgrade will enable the airport to handle heavily-laden Boeing 767 and some Boeing 747 aircraft. It will position Rockhampton as the main staging point for international military exercises conducted at Shoalwater Bay and is expected to create almost 400 extra jobs in the region, contributing an extra $40 million to the regional economy.

The upgrade of Flinders Island Airport was completed in April 2000, with $200,000 allocated towards it in 1999-2000.

Defence infrastructure

In 2000-01, planned capital investment on existing and new Defence bases in regional centres such as Darwin, Townsville, Ipswich, Nowra, Eden and Newcastle will total $178.4 million. In addition, it is estimated that Defence will spend some $118 million on regional facilities and minor capital works at its regional bases.

In a further boost to two New South Wales regional centres, the Government has announced that Defence will retain the Royal Australian Airforce base at Wagga Wagga and will establish its personnel services centre in Cooma.

Regional industries

Agriculture and forestry

Continuation of Agriculture - Advancing Australia package

In 1997, the Federal Government introduced the Agriculture - Advancing Australia (AAA) package. This package delivers a comprehensive set of programmes to support the farming sector by helping farmers to improve their business and risk management skills and by introducing an effective safety net for farmers in financial difficulties. In this Budget, the Government will commit a further $309.4 million over four years to maintain funding levels for the AAA package. Successful AAA programmes will be improved and new programmes will be introduced to focus on other key areas.

• The FarmBis and Property Management Planning Programmes will be amalgamated and extended as Skilling Farmers for the Future, to continue the advances made in business and land management training. The National Component of the FarmBis programme will be enhanced to support a national approach to important issues such as industry adjustment, creating national and international supply networks, and product quality and safety.


• The Farm Family Restart Scheme will be continued and enhanced as Farm Help - Supporting Families through Change to provide improved assistance to farmers in difficulty while they consider their future options.


• A new two-year pilot programme, the Farm Innovation Programme, will be implemented. This Programme seeks to encourage further innovation and diversification practices by farmers.


• Exceptional circumstances will continue to provide farm families with a welfare safety net in situations of hardship caused by exceptional natural events such as drought.


• To develop improved market opportunities, links between Government, business and overseas markets will be strengthened through the continuation and expansion of International Cooperation Agreements.


• The Retirement Assistance for Farmers Scheme is to be extended to 30 June 2001. It will provide a continued opportunity for low-income, pension-age farmers to gift their farms to a younger generation while retaining eligibility for the age pension. This programme is delivered by the Departments of Family and Community Services and Veterans' Affairs.

A comprehensive 18-month communication campaign is planned to ensure that regional Australia is fully informed of the services provided under the AAA package.

The new package will have a positive effect on rural Australia. It will provide targeted incentives to farmers to improve farm profitability, sustainability and competitiveness, and a social safety net for farm families adversely affected by change. This package will also assist regional Australia more generally because the health and vibrancy of many regional communities is underpinned by the profitability of local agricultural, fisheries and forestry industries.

Exceptional circumstances recovery assistance in south-western New South Wales

The Federal Government will provide $0.2 million in 1999-2000 and $0.4 million in 2000-01 for exceptional circumstances assistance in south-western New South Wales. The National Rural Advisory Council recommended that recovery assistance be provided to eligible farmers in the Wentworth, Broken Hill, Hillston, and Balranald Rural Land Protection Board districts. The assistance will be for 12 months and will constitute business support in the form of interest-rate subsidies for farmers in financial hardship.

Assistance to farmers in central north-east South Australia

The Federal Government will provide $2 million for a Regional Adjustment Programme to address longer-term structural issues in the central north-east of South Australia, with the South Australian Government to provide matching funds. The focus of the Programme will be to develop the region's economic capacity and self reliance by facilitating sound business decisions, encouraging sustainability and promoting innovation. The Government will also provide $100,000 for administration costs. This follows the $200,000 the Federal Government provided under Rural Plan to the region to evaluate new economic opportunities.

Many farmers in this area are facing significant financial hardship due to seasonal and structural pressures. This Programme supplements immediate, special financial assistance for eligible farmers in the form of ex gratia payments similar to social security benefits, administered by the Department of Finance and Administration. This assistance is expected to run for three months and is estimated to cost $655,000 in 1999-2000. This is a cross-portfolio measure between the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Department of Finance and Administration.

Wine equalisation tax rebate

From 1 July 2000, the Federal Government will fund a wine equalisation tax (WET) rebate scheme to assist small wine makers in regional Australia. The measure will cost $46 million over three years from 2000-01.

As part of The New Tax System, the current wholesale sales tax regime for wine will be replaced by the Goods and Services Tax and WET. The Commonwealth WET rebate scheme will augment existing States' schemes by providing an additional 14 per cent rebate on cellar door and mail order sales up to $300,000 per annum. This rebate then tapers to zero for sales between $300,000 and $580,000 per annum. The combination of the existing State subsidy and the Commonwealth rebate will mean that cellar door and mail order sales of wine up to $300,000 per annum are effectively WET free.

Building a national approach to animal and plant health

Australia's clean, green image enhances our competitive advantage over other exporting nations and this image must be maintained, even strengthened. The Government will provide $22.3 million over the next four years to help secure Australia's reputation as a supplier of high-quality, clean and green agricultural produce. The funding will be used to reinforce current animal and plant health infrastructure by strengthening surveillance, enhancing disease prevention and awareness, and improving Australia's emergency response capacity.

These Federal Government efforts will be strengthened further by being in partnership with the community, industry and State governments.

Quarantine

The Government will provide a one-off increase of $1.5 million in the first half of 2000-01 for quarantine activity associated with the Olympic and Paralympic Games. An additional $100,000 will be cost recovered from inspections of cargo vessels. This is essential to the full maintenance of Australia's quarantine integrity during the Games period, when significantly increased flows of passengers and cargo are expected.

The Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) will undertake additional quarantine activities associated with United Nations operations in East Timor.

Regional employment with AQIS will increase, with 18 additional staff placed in Darwin who will draw on local business to provide supporting services. The cost of these activities will be budget neutral, and will be met by the Department of Defence ($0.3 million per annum) and AusAID ($1.6 million per annum).

Regional Forest Agreements

Good progress has been made with the negotiation of 20-year Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) between the Commonwealth and the relevant State governments. As at 31 March 2000 RFAs had been finalised in 10 regions, with the southern region in New South Wales being delayed by New South Wales unilateral decisions. Negotiations on a south-east Queensland RFA have been suspended.

Completion of these RFAs is a significant achievement in implementing the National Forest Policy Statement. The RFAs provide certainty for industry, identify industry development opportunities, provide for ecologically sustainable forest management and establish a comprehensive, adequate and representative national forest reserve system. Importantly, they provide stability for regional and rural communities dependent on the native forest timber industry.

In total, the Government has committed $218 million to regional industry development associated with RFAs and the native timber industry in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland , Western Australia and Tasmania.

Aviation

Airservices Australia

The Federal Government will provide Airservices Australia with a subsidy of $7 million in 2000-01 to help pay for air traffic control towers at regional and general aviation airports. It would be prohibitively expensive for the aviation industry to use some of our major regional airports without this subsidisation.

The Government funded the subsidy by a modest increase in the duty on aviation gasoline and aviation turbine fuel in 1999-2000 and 2000-01. The duty on avgas is still 85 per cent lower than it was when the Government took office in March 1996 and the Government is committed to reducing the cost of tower services in the longer term.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority is in the process of developing safety standards to cover the provision of alternative service providers.

Remote Air Service Subsidy Scheme

The Remote Air Service Subsidy (RASS) Scheme currently subsidises five air operators to provide regular services to 205 remote ports in Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

The Government will double the Scheme's funding, from nearly $1.3 million in 1999-2000 to $2.5 million in 2000-01. Over the next four years, the Government will spend an additional $5.2 million on the Scheme to allow greater service range to a larger number of communities.

The Government will be calling for fresh tenders for RASS services later this year. The additional funding will enable all RASS operators to provide a passenger service as well as carrying mail and freight. Under the existing Scheme, 96 isolated communities and stations are served by operators that only carry cargo. The eligibility criteria for the Scheme will also be revised so it can be expanded to cover more communities.

Shipping

Shipbuilding Innovation Scheme

The Shipbuilding Innovation Scheme (SIS), introduced on 1 July 1999, is designed to develop a stronger, sustainable and internationally competitive Australian shipbuilding industry by encouraging product research and development and design (R&D) innovation. The estimated value of this Scheme for 2000-01 is around $10 million.

Under SIS, shipbuilders registered under the relevant legislation will be entitled to the payment of a benefit at the rate of 50 per cent of eligible research and development expenditure, up to a total of 2 per cent of eligible production costs of a bountiable vessel. Eligible research and development expenditure includes adaptive engineering directed at product and process innovation in the shipbuilding industry.

The Scheme will have an impact on the regional economies of North Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania. These regions will benefit from a financially viable, innovative and internationally competitive shipbuilding industry.

Shipbuilding bounty

The Government has committed $28 million over four years to 2003 towards the Shipbuilding Bounty, of which approximately $12 million will be provided in 2000-01. This programme will provide transitional support to the Australian shipbuilding industry while international measures are being developed to phase out subsidies to the industry.

Shipbuilding has a major impact on the regional economies of North Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania, and the bounty scheme will ensure that these regions are not disadvantaged as the other major shipbuilding economies move to lower assistance regimes.

Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme

The Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme (TFES) helps shippers to offset the transport-cost disadvantage associated with moving non-bulk goods across Bass Strait. The Scheme benefits the Tasmanian manufacturing industry by reducing the cost of importing raw materials and machinery from the mainland, and the cost of exporting manufactured or processed goods to the mainland. The basis of TFES assistance was amended in 1999-2000. As a result, it is estimated that some $60 million in assistance will be provided to shippers during 1999-2000, representing an increase of around $15.2 million over the 1998-99 levels of assistance.

Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Scheme

The Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Scheme provides a rebate of up to $300 for each return trip for a driver with a passenger vehicle travelling by sea across Bass Strait.

Since its introduction in 1996, there has been a 90 per cent increase in passenger vehicles being carried between the mainland and Tasmania. The latest estimates for 1999-2000 indicate that TT-Line will carry some 120,000 passenger vehicles on the Spirit of Tasmania and the high-speed catamaran Devil Cat. In the year prior to the Scheme's introduction, TT-Line carried some 63,000 passenger vehicles across Bass Strait. It is estimated that $15.5 million in rebates will be provided to passengers during the 1999-2000 financial year.

Tourism

Regional Tourism Programme

For 1999-2003, the Government committed $14 million to the Regional Tourism Programme (RTP), of which $4 million will be provided in 2000-01. The Programme aims to improve the capability of organisations, businesses and individuals to deliver quality tourism products and services in regional Australia.

Funding is provided through the RTP for the development of tourism attractions, facilities and services, including tourism projects that complement other regional industries and build on our natural and cultural heritage. Projects also funded include industry leadership initiatives, those which raise industry standards, and those developing regional niche markets and establishing web sites for regional tourism organisations.

Textiles, clothing and footwear

Post-2000 Textiles, Clothing and Footwear Assistance Package

The Package represents continued Government support, particularly as a regional initiative, for textiles, clothing and footwear (TCF) industries facing restructuring. It has been designed to promote investment in innovation, research and development to improve the competitiveness of Australia's TCF industries. This is in preparation for the more internationally competitive trade environment after 2005.

The most significant component is the TCF (Strategic Investment Programme) Scheme, a five-year scheme designed to promote an increase in investment by the TCF industries in capital plant and equipment; research and development, including innovative product development; and assistance for regional re-configuration.

A new Internet resource (TCFOZ) is now available. It includes databases of companies, industry-specific educational courses, government programmes and business information, a bulletin board for the exchange of ideas, useful links and a help-desk facility for industry members. A series of roadshows showcasing TCFOZ will be conducted during May and June this year, travelling through regional centres such as Ballarat, Newcastle, Cairns, Fremantle and Launceston, as well as to various clusters in the capital cities.

Regional Minerals Programme: north-west Tasmania

The Government is providing $5 million from 1999-2001 for infrastructure development in north-west Tasmania, of which $4 million will be spent in 2000-01. The infrastructure support will create employment in a very depressed region following the closure of the Burnie pulp and paper mill and decline of other industries in the area. It will help to stimulate new mineral projects and have flow-on effects to other industries.

Petroleum Products Freight Subsidy Scheme

The Petroleum Products Freight Subsidy Scheme (PPFSS) reimburses oil companies and other fuel distributors part of their cost of supplying eligible petroleum products to customers in over 100 eligible remote communities. The aim of the PPFSS is to benefit consumers in these locations by reducing the freight costs of petrol, diesel, aviation gasoline and aviation turbine fuel.

The Government has budgeted $17 million from 1999-2004. It is expected that the Scheme will be worth around $3 million in 2000-01. Administrative expenses ($200,000 per annum) are paid on a pro rata basis to oil companies to compensate for expenses incurred in participation in the Scheme.

Fuel Sales Grant Scheme

Consumers of petrol and diesel in non-metropolitan and remote areas will benefit significantly from the new Fuel Sales Grant Scheme to be introduced from 1 July 2000. Under the Scheme, a grant will be paid to fuel retailers for sales to consumers in non-metropolitan areas with a higher rate of grant provided for sales in remote areas. In addition to the excise reduction, the Scheme will ensure that prices for petrol and diesel in non-metropolitan and remote areas need not rise with the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax. The Scheme will cost around $500 million over the next four years.

Fostering business

Exports and investment

The Government is committed to ensuring that Australia benefits from international trade and investment flows. This includes trade negotiations in multilateral, regional and bilateral forums; business tax reform; and programmes and services to assist industry and small business in their export and investment efforts.

Austrade provides a range of services and assistance to businesses in regional and rural Australia, including advice on exports, overseas markets and opportunities, and grant availability for export marketing. In 2000, the cornerstones of Austrade's service delivery to regional and rural Australia will continue to be the Regional Trade Commissioner network and the TradeStart and Export Access Programmes.

E-commerce for Exports workshops

Since the programme was launched in September 1999, Austrade has delivered around 57 workshops in regional Australia, with 90 more expected to be held in regional locations by the end of 2000. The workshops target small to medium-sized export companies and those considering how e-commerce may pave the way to international business. They focus on techniques that could put Australian businesses at the cutting edge of on-line exporting.

TradeSat

Austrade's TradeSat facilities enable the simultaneous provision of Austrade's annual series of export market seminars and other events to 31 locations across regional Australia, using leading-edge Internet video-streaming technology.

Invest Australia

Invest Australia, the Federal Government's national investment agency, facilitates sustainable and productive investment in Australia. Invest Australia is undertaking initiatives designed to ensure that regional Australia has the same service quality in investment attraction and facilitation as the rest of Australia. It has established a dedicated regional partnership team to facilitate that business investment in association with State and Territory investment agencies and local communities.

During 1999-2000, six major projects have so far been facilitated in regional areas, involving a capital expenditure of $1.7 billion and 1,200 jobs.

In December 1999, Invest Australia appointed an investment outreach officer for the Upper Spencer Gulf region. This officer's primary task is to develop an investment strategy for the region in partnership with the South Australian Government, the Upper Spencer Gulf regional community and the Upper Spencer Gulf Implementation Team. The feasibility of expanding this investment outreach programme to other areas of regional Australia is being examined.

Invest Australia is also committed to increasing awareness among potential Australian and overseas investors of the business investment opportunities in regional Australia through the development of a regional information web site.

Business assistance

GST start-up assistance

Goods and Services Tax (GST) start-up assistance is being delivered to small businesses, community organisations and education organisations all over Australia, including rural and remote Australia. The GST Start-Up Assistance Office has commissioned sectoral and professional organisations to deliver 10,000 seminars and workshops to inform organisations how to prepare their operations for the introduction of the new tax system. Some programmes, such as those being delivered by State farming organisations ($15.3 million) are specifically focused on rural Australia. Contracts with organisations such as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the National Aboriginal Controlled Health Organisation ensure that GST seminars and workshops are being delivered to Indigenous people in remote Australia.

Australian Taxation Office

Service delivery initiatives in regional and rural Australia

Service initiatives are being introduced by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) in line with the Government's commitment to improving service delivery in regional and rural Australia. These include:

• a programme of visits by senior ATO staff to regional tax agents lodging more than 1,000 returns. The purpose is to build relationships and demonstrate commitment to working with and supporting those implementing tax reform. Conversely, these visits will provide insights into small business readiness for tax reform and help improve service and support;


• enhancements to e-tax service which will mean that people in remote areas who have access to the Internet will be able to use e-tax to prepare and lodge their income tax returns. Taxpayers in regional areas will also be able to use the Internet to pay most tax accounts through the banking system's Bpay service. This service, effective from 1 July 2000, will also be available via telephone.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission: regional office presence

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), as a national agency covering competition, consumer protection, public utilities and tax exploitation issues, has offices in all State and Territory capitals, as well as Townsville and Tamworth. Additional staff are being allocated to work specifically on regional and rural assistance. The ACCC's data collection and monitoring function for the GST will take place throughout Australia, while the Commission's GST hotline will reinforce its ability to respond to regional and rural Australians.

The ACCC will also be establishing a Regional and Rural Advisory Committee to provide feedback on its activities.

Business Entry Point

The Business Entry Point (BEP) initiative is an Internet-based service, supported by a phone hotline, that provides free access for business to all spheres of government through a single entry point. The BEP framework has been endorsed at the Federal, State and Territory, and local government levels, as well as by the business sector. It is the on-line channel for businesses dealing with the Commonwealth and became the key on-line access point to the Australian Business Register in July 1999.

The BEP aims to simplify and reduce the compliance processes for business. Through it, the business community can access over 60,000 business-related resources that cover all stages and aspects of a business's life. One of these is a facility to conduct a range of transactions online with a number of government agencies. BEP improves access to whole-of-Government information and services, regardless of the location, giving rural and remote Australians the equivalent access to government information as that received by people in metropolitan areas.

Enhancements of the BEP are being developed to enable a powerful, customised tool of particular benefit to regional and rural users.

Funding for the development of the BEP is $1.7 million in 2000-01. The Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business portfolio has also set aside $6.5 million in 2000-01 for the further development of BEP.

Area Consultative Committees

There are 56 Area Consultative Committees (ACCs), funded through the Regional Assistance Programme (RAP), which operate throughout Australia. Of the 56 ACCs, 43 are located in regional, rural and remote areas. The ACCs comprise business and community representatives who work towards finding community-based solutions to enable jobs growth, skills development, regional growth and improved service delivery.

Area Consultative Committees also promote Government-wide initiatives, and provide advice and feedback to the Government on regional needs and the delivery of and access to relevant government programmes. In regional Australia they have also been involved in delivering Goods and Services Tax start-up assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises, charities and education bodies.

In 2000-01, $52.3 million has been provided for RAP and ACC operations, including RAP projects, business incubators and funding for projects of national significance.

Regional Assistance Programme

The Regional Assistance Programme (RAP) contributes to achievement of national employment goals in regional Australia. It does this by encouraging business and communities to take action in partnership with government, to build business growth and to stimulate sustainable employment. Assistance to regions is provided through seed funding to not-for-profit organisations, and is aimed at generating employment and building the skills base of regions. RAP projects are developed in the context of the relevant Area Consultative Committee regional strategic plan.

For the 1999-2000 financial year, the Government has already provided over $16 million for 311 projects which will generate significant jobs growth across Australia. Around three-quarters of this funding has been for projects in regional and remote Australia.

A new Dairy Regional Assistance Programme (DRAP) will provide additional financial assistance to ameliorate the potential impact of dairy industry deregulation on regional communities dependent on the industry. DRAP will commence on 1 July 2000, with the Government providing $15 million in 2000-01.

Business incubators

Business incubators are designed to assist new and growing businesses to become established and profitable by providing premises, advice, services and support. Business incubators are known to increase the success rate of new start-up businesses.

Around 900 businesses have graduated from incubators funded by the Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business portfolio and employ about 3,200 people. It is also estimated that there are around 2,370 people currently employed in tenant businesses and a further 180 people directly employed by incubators.

Incubators are located in all States and Territories, with 58 per cent in regional areas. In 2000-01, $5 million has been set aside for a new round of incubator proposals.

Small Business Enterprise Culture Programme

The Small Business Enterprise Culture Programme (SBECP) began in 1999-2000 with a funding allocation of $6.4 million. Funding of $5.1 million will occur over the next three financial years, including $2.2 million in 2000-01. The SBECP aims to develop and enhance the business skills of small business owner-managers and demonstrate the contribution that such skills can make to business viability and growth. Another key element is assistance to women in business.

Applications are assessed in two funding rounds each year. Programme funding for 1999-2000 had a specific preference for regional projects, which will continue in 2000-01. The first round saw 29 offers made, 20 of which are located in regional areas.

Employment

Job Network

Job Network is a national network of around 200 organisations dedicated to finding jobs for unemployed people, particularly the long-term unemployed. The second Job Network contract, which runs from 28 February 2000 to 2 March 2003, is building on the success achieved since May 1998 during the first Job Network contract.

In Job Network 2 there will be more than 2,000 Job Network sites across Australia (including over 300 outreach sites), a 50 per cent increase on the 1,400 sites under the first contract. This compares with the 296 Commonwealth Employment Service sites that were available Australia wide to metropolitan and regional and rural job seekers under the old scheme. The total number of Job Network sites in regional Australia will nearly double from about 600 to around 1,100. More than 250 locations (half in regional and rural areas) will have employment services for the first time.

In Job Network 2, there will be 29 Job Network members delivering Specialist Intensive Assistance Services from more than 100 sites across Australia (including 12 outreach sites) to job seekers with particular needs, for example Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with a disability, those from a non-English speaking background or young people.

The Budget provides for $3 billion over three years for the purchase of Job Network employment services.

Job Network Access

All job seekers are able to use, free of charge, the job search facilities provided through the Job Network Access Centres (Employment Self Help). This has been implemented in Centrelink Customer Service Centres, 166 of which are located in regional and rural areas.

Computers in these self-help areas will shortly be connected to the Internet, enabling job seekers to place their resumé details on the Australian Job Search Resume Builders web site. This will allow job seekers to be matched automatically against positions on the national vacancy database, and to be considered by employers who scan the resumé database. This initiative will benefit all job seekers, but will significantly improve the options of those resident in regional and rural areas.

Work for the Dole

The Work for the Dole Programme is a key component of the Government's mutual obligation arrangements. Since 1997, almost 1,600 projects have been funded across Australia to provide work experience for unemployed people. Around 60,000 people have participated in projects sponsored by community-based and government organisations.

The objectives of the Work for the Dole Programme are to develop work habits, involve the local community in quality projects that cater for and assist the unemployed, and provide communities with Work for the Dole activities that are of value to those communities. These activities are located primarily in areas of high youth unemployment, with an emphasis on outer-metropolitan, regional and rural areas.

In 2000-01, the number of Work for the Dole places for job seekers funded by the Government will be 50,000 compared with 32,500 in 1999-2000. Just under half of the funding available in 2000-01 is expected to be directed to projects in regional Australia.

To facilitate this increase in places and to strengthen the links between local communities and the Programme, Community Work Coordinators have been contracted from January 2000 to manage the Programme in local communities. Of the 119 different organisations providing Community Work Coordinator services, 85 have been contracted to provide services in regional and remote Australia.

Indigenous employment

The Government's Indigenous Employment Policy (IEP), announced in May 1999, aims to address the severe disadvantage in employment faced by Indigenous people. IEP creates opportunities in the private sector for job seekers and emphasises support for small business. There are three main elements to the Policy: the Indigenous Employment Programme ($55 million for 2000-01), the Indigenous Small Business Fund ($2 million per annum), and continuation of measures to improve Job Network outcomes.

The Indigenous Employment Programme comprises a range of complementary initiatives, including: Structured Training and Employment Projects (STEP), Wage Assistance, a bonus system for Community Development Employment Project (CDEP) project sponsors, an Indigenous Cadetship Project and the CEOs for Indigenous Employment Project.

Structured Training and Employment Projects provide employment and training opportunities for Indigenous people, particularly through new apprenticeships. More than 100 projects are expected to be approved under STEP in the 1999-2000 financial year. Projects have a strong focus on rural and remote areas, including assistance to private sector employers sponsoring projects that provide community infrastructure or involve capital outlays.

The Wage Assistance component is particularly relevant to small business in regional areas and around 1,050 unemployed Indigenous people have been placed in the nine months of operation to date.

The Indigenous Small Business Fund, launched in October 1999, has been developed to encourage and support the development and expansion of Indigenous small businesses. A total of 24 proposals from organisations have been received to date. The Fund will help Indigenous people to develop business management and planning skills, to start commercially viable businesses and to access business capital and support services. It also aims to enhance their business prospects by supporting skills development programmes, mentoring, networking, advisory services and market development (including export opportunities).

Community Development Employment Projects

The Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) scheme will continue to provide employment opportunities for Indigenous people in remote and isolated communities. The scheme will be further enhanced in 2000-01 through an expansion of 1,500 extra participant places costing $20.7 million over four years, bringing total places to around 35,000.

Employee Entitlements Support Scheme

On 8 February 2000, the Government announced the establishment of the new, national Employee Entitlements Support Scheme. The Scheme provides assistance to employees whose employment has been terminated as a result of their employer's insolvency and who are owed certain employment entitlements. The Scheme covers those employees dismissed on or after 1 January 2000.

Significant business insolvencies have a particular effect on regional centres, where local economies are sometimes largely dependent on the business concerned. In the short time that the Scheme has been operating, a number of cases have come to light in regional Australia where employees may be eligible for assistance under the Scheme.

The Federal Government is providing up to $55 million for the Scheme in 2000-01, and has asked State and Territory governments to provide matching contributions.

Sustainable natural resource management

The Natural Heritage Trust (NHT)

Australia's long-term economic prospects depend on the sustainable use of our natural resources and conservation of our unique biological diversity. There are significant challenges in repairing past damage to our land and water resources and restoring our environment for future generations.

The Federal Government has responded to these challenges by the successful implementation of the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT), through which it is investing $1.5 billion over six years. To date, over $700 million has been approved for more than 6,400 NHT and related projects that address biodiversity conservation and sustainable agriculture issues in an integrated manner.

It should be recognised that the Commonwealth NHT contribution is one part in community efforts to undertake worthwhile environmental and sustainable agriculture projects. In 1999-2000, for every $1,000 approved by the Commonwealth for One-Stop-Shop NHT projects, funds and in-kind goods to the value of about $7,000 were also leveraged.

Cape York Natural Heritage Trust Plan

The Cape York Natural Heritage Trust Plan is providing up to $40 million to protect the outstanding natural and cultural values of Cape York. The Plan was developed by the Federal Government in consultation with the Queensland Government and is being delivered by both governments in partnership with the Cape York community.

Since June 1998, the Natural Heritage Trust has provided over $3.8 million to 21 projects, including the development of property plans with individual land holders. The project is building in momentum, with community organisations across the Cape now putting forward substantial proposals to protect and enhance its natural and cultural value.

Lake Eyre Basin Regional Initiative

In recognition of the role of the community in maintaining the nationally important economic, social, environment and heritage values associated with the Lake Eyre Basin, the Federal Government is continuing to support the Lake Eyre Basin Regional Initiative, in partnership with the South Australian and Queensland Governments.

Under the Regional Initiative, the Basin community is taking responsibility for achieving sustainable regional development outcomes while protecting the Basin's unique environmental, social and cultural values.

Lake Eyre Basin Agreement

The Federal Government is continuing to work with relevant Queensland and South Australian agencies and the community to develop and implement the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement.

The Agreement will provide a framework for the cooperative management of the water and related natural resources associated with cross-border river systems in the Lake Eyre Basin, and, through this, the protection of dependent aquatic ecosystems. The Agreement will also establish a Ministerial Forum and formalise associated community and scientific advisory arrangements, ensuring community views and local knowledge are fully recognised in decision-making and management processes.

Renewable Remote Power Generation Programme

The Renewable Remote Power Generation Programme, announced by the Prime Minister in May 1999 in Measures for a Better Environment, will begin on 1 July 2000. The Programme will provide a rebate of up to 50 per cent of the capital costs of converting diesel-based, remote, off-grid electricity supplies to renewable energy technologies.

The Programme will be funded from excise paid on diesel used to generate electricity by publicly-owned power utilities. States and Territories will be allocated funding on the basis of the relevant diesel fuel excise paid in that State or Territory. Up to $264 million will be available over the four-year life of the Programme, with $66 million in 2000-01.

Greenhouse Gas Abatement Programme

The Government is providing $400 million from 2000-01 to 2003-04, with $100 million in 2000-01, under the Greenhouse Gas Abatement Programme. The funding is to reduce Australia's net greenhouse gas emissions by supporting activities that are likely to result in substantial emission reduction or substantial sink enhancement in regional Australia. This Programme significantly builds upon the $180 million Greenhouse Programme, which is already taking practical steps to reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions.

Bush for Greenhouse

As part of the Prime Minister's Safeguarding the Future Statement, the Government has allocated a total of $5.5 million from 1998-99 to 2002-03 for Bush for Greenhouse, with $2 million in 2000-01. The programme will enhance Australia's greenhouse sinks estate by facilitating corporate investment into re-vegetation activities.

Diesel and Alternative Fuel Grants Scheme

The Diesel and Alternative Fuel Grants Scheme seeks to maintain the current price relativities between diesel and alternative transport fuels, with on-road transport operators who are eligible for the diesel fuel grant also eligible for alternative fuel grants. The Scheme will encourage wider use of alternative fuels, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality.

Eligible users of alternative fuels such as compressed natural gas, liquid petroleum gas and recycled waste oil, and renewable fuels such as ethanol and canola oil, will attract alternative fuel grants.

Gladstone Regional Strategy

In January 2000, the Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) launched its first regional greenhouse reduction strategy with the Gladstone region. Under this strategy, the AGO is providing up to $760,000 over three years for the delivery of a range of AGO programmes. The Gladstone Regional Sustainability Group (consisting of local government, State government, industry, local business and community groups) is matching the funds.

Bureau of Meteorology

The Bureau of Meteorology provides a broad range of on-going weather and climate related forecasting and information services to regional Australia. An initiative aimed at enhancing the services to provincial cities and rural areas has been under way since 1996, with the main focus being improvements to the infrastructure within the Bureau's field offices to enable the staff to respond more effectively to local needs for information and services.

In 2000-01, some $355,000 will be directed towards improving on-line communications and equipment at the offices and upgrading services of particular interest to rural areas.

ChemCollect

ChemCollect is a joint Commonwealth and State initiative which is being funded through Environment Australia under the Chemwatch initiative. ChemCollect will allow existing unwanted agricultural and veterinary chemicals, which represent a major risk to the community, agricultural markets and the environment, to be safely collected from rural areas and appropriately disposed of.

The three-year programme will be completed at the end of 2001-02 and will have a particular focus on hazardous farm chemicals which are no longer registered for use, particularly persistent organochlorine pesticides.

The Federal Government contribution will approximate $10.8 million and will be matched on a dollar for dollar basis by State and Territory governments. This one-off, Government-funded collection scheme will be followed by an ongoing chemicals collections scheme funded by the rural chemicals industry.