With the polls looming, the Coalition is turning its focus to the bush, unveiling a $20 billion perpetual fund to try bridge the divide between regional and urban Australia.
The Nationals Party promised to establish a $20 billion Regional Australia Future Fund (RAFF) if the Coalition wins the federal election.
The fund, designed to exist in perpetuity, would remove the need for constant lobbying for infrastructure support in regional Australia, said Nationals leader David Littleproud.
“We’re always fighting in regional Australia to get that last mile of infrastructure spend that doesn’t fit in the normal pots of money,” he said.
“This is just about making sure that we have that reliable amount of funding that’s there year in, year out.”
The proposal includes a second initiative, the Future Generations Fund, which is aimed at reducing national debt and supporting infrastructure projects.
How the Fund Will Work
The RAFF would be legislated and modeled on Labor’s housing and manufacturing funds.It would begin with an initial $5 billion of seed capital from the Commonwealth, funded by scrapping Labor’s $20 billion renewable energy infrastructure initiative.
Budget windfalls, particularly from higher resource prices, would contribute 80 percent of additional surpluses, aiming to grow the fund to $20 billion over four years.
An immediate $1 billion would be allocated from the federal budget to ensure timely project rollouts.
Competitive Grants and Local Impact
Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie assured that money from the fund would be allocated through independent analysis and not used for political gain.“It shouldn’t go to seats that are just held by Liberal and National Party members; it should be about the 9 million of us that don’t live in capital cities,” she said.
The funding would be distributed via competitive grants to not-for-profits and local councils to address infrastructure gaps.
This could include upgrading childcare centres or increasing Commonwealth-supported university placements in the regions.
Littleproud defended reallocating funds from renewable energy projects, asserting regional Australians deserve their fair share.
“I don’t think that’s a lot to ask our city counterparts. It’s just about giving us the amenity of life, so that people will continue to contribute to our economy and come and live in regional Australia,” he said.
In another campaign pledge, the Coalition has committed $1.5 million to improve food labelling laws to prevent consumers from mistakenly purchasing plant-based meat alternatives.
Labor Counters with Targeted Rural Support
Meanwhile, in the election season of major announcements, Labor has unveiled its own support strategy for rural Australians.The Albanese government is allocating $600 million to ensure access to Support at Home aged care services in the regions, as well as for people with diverse backgrounds and life experiences.
Eligible providers in rural areas or those delivering specialist care can apply for additional funding to enhance the financial viability of existing services.
During the first leaders’ debate, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed the infrastructure and education challenges in semi-rural towns like Tahmoor.
When questioned on the lack of facilities, Albanese cited a federal agreement with New South Wales providing over $4 billion in additional public school funding.
“Schools in terms of capital funding is done by state governments. But ... the agreement for New South Wales alone ... is worth over $4 billion of additional funding for public schools here,” he said.
