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Building Better

Regional Cities

BUILDING BETTER REGIONAL CITIES


The Gillard Labor Government will invest $200 million to help build up to 15,000
more affordable homes in regional cities over three years and relieve pressure on
our major capital cities, so that Australia can grow sustainably.
This program will give participating councils new funding to invest in local
infrastructure projects that support new housing developments, such as
connecting roads, extensions to drains and sewerage pipes, and community
infrastructure such as parks and community centres.

Why we are doing this – the evidence


There are many regional centres experiencing positive jobs and population
growth that need more homes to be built. Many have available land and
community support for new development.
These plans are being held back by a lack of funding for necessary infrastructure
such as connecting roads and extensions to drains and sewers, which can have a
negative impact on employment in the region.
Some ordinary income earners are priced out of local markets through
insufficient housing supply.

What Federal Labor will do


The Gillard Labor Government will partner with a number of prospering regional
cities to help them achieve their plans to build more homes for a growing
population.

Julia Gillard and Labor Let’s move Australia Forward


Under this policy, there will be an increase in the number of homes for sale and
rent that are affordable for working families, in communities that have good
employment prospects.
We will make a significant contribution – up to $15 million – to infrastructure in
each regional city that submits a successful application under the program. This
could be for one development or spread across several, depending on local
demographic patterns and community preference.
Funding will only be given to cities that produce robust evidence of future jobs
growth projection, and that can show how many extra affordable homes will be
created as a result of these upfront development costs being borne by the
Government.

Who will benefit and what will change


There are two main groups set to benefit:
1. Working families on ordinary incomes living in regional centres who are
suffering from cost of living pressures.
2. New residents who want to move into the area for jobs, who need homes.
The program will assist regional cities and may also relieve some pressure on
major capitals.

What the policy delivers


This program is expected to see up to 15,000 additional homes built in Australia
over the three years to June 2014, in regional cities with jobs growth.
It is expected that about 15 applications will be successful receiving up to
$15 million each. An increase in 15,000 homes nationally (around 10 per cent of
regional construction) could be expected to result from this investment.

Which cities will be eligible?


Forty-six regional cities across Australia will be invited to participate in the
program.
All non-capital cities with populations over 30,000 have been included. Mount
Gambier in South Australia and Burnie and Devonport in Tasmania have been
included to reflect differences between states in the size and distribution of
population.

Julia Gillard and Labor Let’s move Australia Forward


What will cities have to do?
Each city will need to show there is land available for housing, community
support for new development and strong expected jobs growth.
Councils will also need to deliver more affordable homes over the next three
years, good urban design, environmental improvements and meet appropriate
planning benchmarks.
Successful cities will be able to spend funds on local infrastructure projects that
support new housing developments like connecting roads, bridges, upgrades to
drains and community centres.

What else is Federal Labor doing to support regional cities?


The Gillard Labor Government is making substantial investments in infrastructure
and services to help cities in regional Australia:
 Ensuring that half of new GP and specialist training places continue to be
provided in rural and remote communities.
 Investing $34 million to support up to 7,500 rural nurses and 1,000 rural
allied health professionals over the next decade in taking leave and
continuing their professional development.
 Investing $6.5 million to provide an additional 100 clinical placement
scholarships per annum for allied health students in rural areas.
 Funding 20 regional cancer centres so that regional families can access
first class medical care closer to where they live.
 We have removed the caps on university places which means that this
year, universities have increased their enrolments by 44,000, a particular
benefit for students in growing regional areas.
 Investing $37 billion in transport infrastructure such as highways, railways
and ports – with $22 billion of that investment going to regional Australia.
 The National Broadband Network will provide high speed internet for all
Australians, regardless of where they live, through optical fibre, wireless
and satellite technologies.
 The $6 billion Regional Infrastructure Fund will return a dividend from the
Minerals Resource Rent Tax to the communities that generate our mining
wealth in the first place.

Julia Gillard and Labor Let’s move Australia Forward


THE COALITION’S RECORD
The legacy of the Liberal Party’s period in Government is the least affordable housing in
Australian history.
Housing became less affordable because Australia was not building enough homes for the
next generation of Australians.
Over the 12 years the Coalition was in Government:
 They did nothing to invest in affordable rental housing.
 They did nothing to help the number of houses being built in regional Australia.
 Funding for public housing was cut by $3.1 billion.
 The number of public housing homes fell by 33,000 properties.
The Liberal-National Coalition stopped collecting information on housing demand, did not
have a Housing Minister and refused to work with the States, Territories and local
government to take action on housing affordability.

Julia Gillard and Labor Let’s move Australia Forward


46 Regional Cities

Newcastle (NSW) Geelong (VIC)


Wollongong (NSW) Ballarat (VIC)
Tweed Heads (NSW) Bendigo (VIC)
Wagga Wagga (NSW) Wodonga (VIC)
Albury (NSW) Mildura (VIC)
Coffs Harbour (NSW) Shepparton (VIC)
Queanbeyan (NSW) Warrnambool (VIC)
Tamworth (NSW) Traralgon (VIC)
Port Macquarie (NSW)
Orange (NSW) Mandurah (WA)
Dubbo (NSW) Bunbury (WA)
Nowra (NSW) Kalgoorlie/Boulder (WA)
Bathurst (NSW) Geraldton (WA)
Ballina (NSW)
Cessnock (NSW) Mount Gambier (SA)
Maitland (NSW)
Gosford (NSW) Launceston (TAS)
Wyong (NSW) Devonport (TAS)
Lismore (NSW) Burnie (TAS)

Gold Coast (QLD) Palmerston (NT)


Sunshine Coast (QLD)
Townsville (QLD)
Cairns (QLD)
Toowoomba (QLD)
Mackay (QLD)
Rockhampton (QLD)
Bundaberg (QLD)
Hervey Bay (QLD)
Gladstone (QLD)

Julia Gillard and Labor Let’s move Australia Forward

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