Budget 2022: Immediate relief must come with a longer term plan for G21 region

Immediate relief must come with a longer term plan for G21 region

The 2022-23 Federal Budget promises communities across the G21 Geelong region some immediate relief from the rising cost of petrol and other day-to-day expenses, a helping hand with housing, investment in freight industry infrastructure, a boost to women’s health and a strong outlook for jobs with low unemployment.

However, the substantial $7 billion Regional Investment Package applies only to four regions outside Victoria, a disappointing outcome for G21 communities which are among the fastest growing in Australia.

Here’s a summary of the key initiatives:

Cost of Living?

• Fuel excise halved for 6 months, saving motorists 22c per litre
• An extra, one-off $420 in tax relief for Australians earning less than $126,000 per year
• $250 one-off payment to welfare and pension recipients, veterans, eligible self-funded retirees

The increase in the cost of living is felt very acutely in the G21 Geelong region and the immediate Budget relief is welcome. Our communities are very car dependent and the sharp rise in petrol prices is putting a strain on household budgets. This leaves fewer dollars to cover the rising cost of food, housing and other essentials.

As the measures are temporary, we’re hoping to see a commitment to longer term solutions when the election campaign gets underway.

In particular, our growing communities are calling for deep investment in a variety of transport infrastructure to give people the option of using public transport, cycling or walking, all of which are quite limited at the moment.

G21 would also like to see increased investment in electric vehicle charging stations and incentives to spur the take-up of electric vehicles to begin the transition to more economically and environmentally sustainable transport for commuters.

Housing

• First Home Guarantee Scheme extended (allowing first home buyers to purchase a property with a 5 per cent deposit or 2 per cent for single parent families; means tested).
• Establishment of new Regional Home Guarantee (RHG) - applies to homes valued up to $700,000 in Geelong and $500,000 in the rest of the region.

This year’s housing measures deliver more focus on regions with a Regional Home Guarantee (RHG) to encourage construction in non-metropolitan areas. To access the regional scheme, applicants must build or purchase a newly built home with 10,000 places nationally available p/a from October 1.

The need for affordable, key worker and social housing across Geelong and the G21 region is significant. A lack of affordable housing is causing chronic staff shortages for our businesses and service providers. G21 also has 883 people experiencing homelessness and 5000 people reporting rental stress.

The RHG scheme is a good start but will need to be topped up to meet our region’s surging property prices and delivered on a greater scale to alleviate the affordability crisis in many of our communities. Rental relief still needs to be addressed as home ownership schemes will be out of reach for many people on lower wages.

G21 will continue to advocate for a national housing plan and other measures to make housing more accessible.

Transport Infrastructure

• $740 million intermodal freight terminal at Truganina in Melbourne’s west
• $920 million rail connection to terminal

G21 welcomes investment for an intermodal transport hub at Truganina which will benefit the region’s expanding freight and logistics industry.

The hub will facilitate trade growth by helping connect the region’s key transport assets such as GeelongPort, Avalon Airport and major rail and road arteries. This will support the region’s defence, agribusiness, energy and manufacturing industries.

Regional Investment

• $2 billion over 5 years Regional Accelerator Program for fast growing regions
• $1.3 billion program to expand digital coverage on transport routes
• $7.1 billion Regional Investment Package in agriculture, infrastructure, water and energy (does not include Victoria)

The Regional Accelerator Program will fund transformative projects in recycling, advanced manufacturing and defence industry, all of which are growing in the G21 region.

Digital networks get a boost with fresh federal and state funding rolling out to address the gaping divide between regional and metro digital access, following several government inquiries into the impact of poor connectivity.

Disappointingly, the $7.1 billion Regional Investment Package applies only to four regions outside Victoria. As one of the fastest growing regions in Australia, G21 will continue to advocate be in the coming election campaign for investment required in priority projects to uplift productivity and meet the pressures of a rapidly growing population.

Employment, Education and Training

• 3.75% (Sept ’22 quarter) projected unemployment rate
• New apprenticeship scheme - $2.8 billion (extended from 2021-22 Budget) – $5000 payments for new apprentices to improve completion rates & $15,000 for employers
• 800,000 training places

Additional funding for the expansion of apprenticeships under the National Skills Agreement will potentially create 800,000 training places. This is good news for the region which is experiencing skill shortages in high demand industries such as construction and hospitality, as recovery from the pandemic moves into full flight.

Small Business

• $120 tax deduction for every $100 spent on digital improvement
• $120 tax deduction for every $100 spent on staff training

Tax incentives will be beneficial in helping businesses keep pace with digital innovation and security.

COVID lockdowns revealed a lack of digital literacy among small businesses in the G21 region, with upskilling of staff required to make the most of the pivot to e-commerce and other online improvements.

Councils

• Local Roads and Community Infrastructure funding has been extended with $500m committed over the next two years. The dollar figure for each council is yet to be determined.

Health and Wellbeing

A range of health and wellbeing measures will benefit G21 communities, with a greater focus on women’s health and safety.

• Mental health: $500 million over five years to pay for next stage of National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan, including increase in Headspace and digital health services
• Domestic violence: $1.3 billion package to increase frontline services, emergency accommodation and legal services
• Paid parental leave: up to 20 weeks can be split flexibly between parents; 20 weeks in total for single parents
• $53 million for endometriosis clinics in each state and territory
• $40 million for breast care nurses program; breast cancer drug Trodelvy listed on PBS

Energy Transition

With a commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050, there were few funding announcements to drive a large scale, low emissions energy transition. G21 will be looking to the election campaign to deliver more incentives to ramp up investment and innovation in clean energy, clean fuels and measures to better protect the region from the impact of climate change. Key regional stakeholders such as Deakin University, GeelongPort, Viva, Westwind and G21 councils are deeply engaged in mitigation and adaptation plans at a local level.

First Nations

$636.4 million to create an estimated 2,000 additional ranger jobs by 2028 in regional and remote parts of the country. The new funding will also encourage more Indigenous women to begin working as rangers on land and sea country.

This is an overview from our region’s perspective. For full details you can find the Federal Budget Papers here: https://budget.gov.au/2022-23/content/documents.htm

We’ll be discussing these issues and more at the G21 Forum this Friday at the Torquay RACV Resort.

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