Regional and remote communities across the country have received welcome news this week with 109 projects to share in more than $4 million under round two of the Building Better Regions Fund – Community Investment stream.
Minister for Regional Development, Territories and Local Government John McVeigh said the Community Investment stream was about ensuring regional communities had a strong future.
“The Community Investment stream targets community activities from expanded local events and strategic planning, to leadership and capability building to better map out the ongoing prosperity of our region,” Dr McVeigh said.
“Regional and remote areas of Australia face unique challenges and have a huge potential for economic growth – strong community planning is essential for the successful longevity of regional Australia.”
Dr McVeigh said these projects would create more than 3,900 local jobs on completion, ensuring regions continue to thrive by transforming local communities and unlocking their economic potential.
“We are funding a variety of initiatives such as the Re-imagine Nambour project which is expected to deliver an economic transition strategy to invigorate the local economy in Queensland’s Sunshine Coast to the Rural Respect! Community Leadership Project in Gippsland providing community forums and events which to increase the skills of community leaders to address family violence issues,” Dr McVeigh said.
“Successful projects were selected from over 270 applications, reflecting the strong community backing for this investment in regional Australia.”
Dr McVeigh said that following the ongoing success of the Building Better Regions Fund, the Government committed a further $200 million in the 2018-19 Federal Budget to deliver a third round.
Applications for the third round of funding are expected to open in coming months.
A full list of successful round two projects under the Community Investment stream are available at www.business.gov.au/bbrf.
Successful projects under round two of the Building Better Regions Fund – Infrastructure Projects stream will be announced shortly.