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Today at 4:30pm, after 16 months of obfuscation, the Government finally - and quietly - released the "Regions at the Ready: Investing in their Future" expert report.
I've been working since the day I was elected to get the Coalition to release this report.
Here's why
I've been working since the day I was elected to get the Coalition to release this report.
Here's why
This expert report contains important recommendations by the best minds in regional Australia about how to pursue a strategic regional development and decentralisation agenda. It contains a framework for partnership and investment to drive regional growth.
It was the culmination of several years work by hundreds of stakeholders to create such a blueprint. This latest report had 29 submissions and 79 individuals involved in workshops. It was written by an expert panel. It built on the work of many previous inquiries.
The expert panel sent this final report to the Government in March 2019. Since then, the Government has done & said nothing about it. In September, I asked @M_McCormackMP about it in Parliament. Obfuscation. I had meetings, wrote letters, brought delegations to Canberra. Silence.
Last month I worked with @Senator_Patrick to use the Senate to force the Government to release the report. It was due to respond yesterday.
Today - not one day late, but 16 months late - the Coalition finally responded. I'm flabbergasted it took so long for a simple request.
Today - not one day late, but 16 months late - the Coalition finally responded. I'm flabbergasted it took so long for a simple request.
I note the report calls for the government to deliver a White Paper on the future of regional Australia by July 2020. Well, here we are, in July 2020, and because of the government’s inaction, we have no plan, no blueprint for the future of our regions.
We could have spent the past 16 months building that plan, but instead the government has spent it obfuscating with parliamentary tricks, while I have spent it working to bring this report to light. Not a good use of anybody's time.
If this is the government’s idea of putting out the trash on a Friday night, then pity help us in regional Australia. This delay demonstrates the government’s inability to deliver a plan that builds a positive future for rural and regional Australia.
I'd like to thank @Senator_Patrick & @Indigocathy for working with me on this important win for regional Australians. And I'd like to thank every person who contributed to this vital report. I look forward to working with all of you to turn these recommendations into reality.
My full statement here: https://www.helenhaines.org/media/coalition-forced-to-reveal-vital-regional-blueprint
