Moorabool council has expressed disappointment that once again Bacchus Marsh has been classed as urban and therefore ineligible to apply for the federal government’s Regional Precincts and Partnerships Program (rPPP).
The rPPP is a $400 million fund aimed at transformative investment in regional, rural and remote Australia, with $100 million available in 2023-24.
This follows the federal government splitting the shire for the Growing Regions Program, rendering Bacchus Marsh ineligible for that fund. In addition the State Government’s Growing Suburbs Fund is only funding interface Melbourne councils, not peri-urban Councils such as Moorabool Shire.
While the state fund deems Bacchus Marsh ineligible because it is too far from the city, the two federal funds deem it part of Melbourne, in line with the Australian Bureau of Statistics Greater Melbourne Statistical Area.
The two federal funds have suburban counterparts underwhich Bacchus Marsh is eligible, however it will need to compete with metropolitan councils.
Moorabool mayor Rod Ward said this disadvantages the area.
“We have a situation where in Bacchus Marsh, we are considered urban by the federal government and rural by the state government and stuck in no-man’s land when it comes to accessing funding for infrastructure for our growing community,” he said.
“This puts us at a huge disadvantage and makes it difficult to plan for new developments and provide for our rapidly growing community.”
A spokeswoman for the Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King said federal government grants programs for regional and suburban Australia that have transparent, rigorous and consistent guidelines.
“We are not drawing lines on a map to suit an electoral advantage. We have made sure decisions about eligibility are based on the Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSA) as defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics,” she said.
“For the first time ever, there is now a competitive grants program for every local government in the country.”
“Moorabool Shire receives significant Australian government support through a range of road, community and financial assistance programs including over $8.7 million in 2023-24 under the Financial Assistance Grant program, over $7.6 million across all four phases of the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, over $6.4 million from 2019-20 to 2023-24 under the Roads to Recovery Program and over $2.1 for five completed road safety projects under the Black Spot Program.”
