“Regional Victoria means business,” said Victorian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Victorian Chamber) Chief Executive Mark Stone.

“Now is the time to build on Victoria’s many regional strengths, overcome emerging pressures and create new opportunities.”

Mr Stone’s comments came as over 100 regional business and local government leaders from throughout Victoria met with the Hon. Jacinta Allan, MP, Minister for Public Transport and Employment, and the Hon. Matthew Guy MP, Leader of the Opposition, at the Summit in Bendigo.

The Summit highlighted priorities including:

Regional small business

• Raise the payroll tax threshold from $550,000 to $850,000 to assist regional SMEs to create jobs.
• Retract Victoria’s two new public holidays, Easter Sunday and Grand Final eve, as they impose significant costs on regional small business and result in lost productivity.
• Raise the 25 per cent regulatory reform target to a 30 per cent reduction in the level of red tape by June 2016 and ensure a significant number of the reforms directly benefit regional business.

Regional infrastructure

• Progress major regional investments by creating a one stop shop for local and state government regulatory approvals to reduce costs and delays.
• Accelerate the NBN rollout in regional Victoria and ensure it strategically prioritises areas where upgraded internet access will provide the greatest benefit to local economies.
• Encourage further unsolicited bids from the private sector to enhance the pipeline of regional infrastructure projects.

Regional global connections

• Develop a strategy and action plan to leverage regional opportunities created by Free Trade Agreements and assist Victorian regional SMEs to take advantage of these.
• Fund a new $5 million Regional Trade and Investment Ready Program, delivered by industry, to identify and support Victorian regional SMEs seeking inward investment. 
• Allocate $2 million to create a Regional Small Business: Global Opportunities promotion and information campaign to raise awareness among regional small business of export opportunities.

Regional skills

• Implement the Review of Quality Assurance in Victoria’s VET System recommendations to engender confidence in the vocational education and training (VET) system among regional stakeholders.
• Allocate funding in Victoria’s VET system to address industry-specific regional training needs, for example those that have arisen from structural changes in the economy.
• Improve student accommodation across the state, facilitating affordable close to and on campus options.

Regional land-use and investment

• Strengthen Invest Victoria’s focus on and engagement with regional Victoria.
• Develop dedicated strategies and action plans to leverage regional growth and investment in:
• Water and land reuse for agribusiness.
• Natural gas exploration and supply expansion for new power, advanced manufacturing and industrial applications.

Regional tourism and events

• Boost funding to maintain existing regional state-owned tourism infrastructure.
• Maintain real funding levels to attract business events and conferences aligned to Victoria’s priority sectors and ensure Victoria’s regions reap the benefits.
• Invest in high quality, high yield tourism products and services that meet the expectations of key international visitor growth markets, including in priority areas of food and wine, spa and wellness, accommodation, and nature-based tourism.

Regional service delivery

• Increase levels of cooperation between regional service delivery bodies and those parts of government (local, state and federal) that design, implement and evaluate regional development policies and programs.
• Support regional investment attraction and locational decision-making by establishing a biennial Regional Competitiveness Report that integrates the economic, business and livability aspects of different regions into a single competitiveness index.
• Re-establish the Community Cabinet process and commit to holding up to six meetings per year in regional Victoria.

Priority projects by region were also identified.

The Victoria Summit recommendations will form the basis of Victorian Chamber’s regional business agenda into 2016 and beyond, including for Victorian Chamber’s 2016-17 state budget submission and the next federal election.

“We cannot expect Victoria’s economic performance to be strong without vibrant, outward looking and competitive regional business,” said Mr Stone.