Regional Relocation Grant Failure
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Senior Ministers Pass The Buck Over Regional Relocation Grant Failure
Highly Publicised Grants Attract Just 49 People – Despite 6,000 Moving To Rural Areas Last Year
Senior Government Ministers have spent Budget estimates hearings trying to pass the buck over the failure of the regional relocation grants scheme – which has seen only 49 people take up the highly publicised grants.
"The Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Finance Minister have all tried to blame each other for the massive failure of the regional relocation grants scheme in budget estimates hearings this week," Shadow Regional and Rural Affairs Minister, Mick Veitch said today.
"It seems no Minister is willing to take responsibility for the regional relocation grants scheme which has been taken up by just 49 people.
"This is the failed program no Minister wants to own.
"Treasury figures show more than 6,000 people moved from metropolitan to regional areas last year – but in just three months only 49 people have taken up the O\'Farrell Government\'s regional relocation scheme grants.
"This $180 million scheme was always going to pay people for moving to rural and regional areas when they were already moving anyway.
"The fact that people moving to regional areas aren’t even bothering to apply for the grants proves the regional relocation grants scheme is making zero difference to their decision.
"No wonder the Government underfunded its own $280 million scheme by $100 million in the Budget – they obviously listened to advice that this wouldn’t change anyone\'s decision to move to the regions.
"The original $280 million promised should have been invested to create and retain regional, agricultural and manufacturing jobs that would have actually created new opportunities for working families to move to the regions.
"It is no wonder the Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Finance Minister are all running at a million miles an hour away from the regional relocation scheme – this is set to be a $180 million failure that could have gone towards creating and retaining regional jobs."