The latest $200 million round of the Building Better Regions Fund (BBRF) will be wholly and soley dedicated to helping the communities hardest hit by the crippling drought.
Nationals Senator for Victoria, Bridget McKenzie, urges drought hit communities to take advantage of the fund and get local infrastructure and community-building projects of all sizes off the ground.
“We are here for our regional and rural communities who are doing it tough through drought and will be here to support them for as long as it takes through dedicated initiatives such as the BBRF,” she said.
“This round is dedicated to unlocking the economic potential of rural, remote and regional Australia which has been drought affected and I encourage all eligible organisations with a project ready to commence, to apply for the fourth round of funding.
“Regional communities across Victoria have already benefited from previous rounds of the BBRF including Indi in the north-east, with nearly $10 million already invested through a number of projects, driving economic growth in Indi and delivering lasting benefits to our local
communities.
“These include turf club and aquatic upgrades in Wangaratta, boosting tourism at Bonegilla Migrant Centre, rail trails at Harrietville, Beechworth and Yakandandah, plus other improvements of community facilities.”
Nationals leader and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Michael McCormack, announced Round Four as part of the federal Government’s latest package of assistance to combat the drought.
“Communities across the country are suffering from the effects of this prolonged dry-spell and this extra funding will help get local projects and infrastructure work under way to strengthen regional economies, keep tradies in work and money generating through local stores,” he said.
“The BBRF is a central plank of our commitment to supporting stronger regions, supporting local jobs by investing in ‘shovel-ready’ projects across regional Australia that are doing it tough during this drought to ensure communities thrive and survive.
“Previous projects have ranged from building community-based aged care facilities, training programs to support young people in starting their own business and improving freight access to airports.
“The first three rounds of BBRF were highly competitive with more than 2,600 applications received and 832 projects funded, totalling just over $643 million.”
Applications open on 14 November 2019 and close on 19 December 2019.
Further information on eligibility and how to apply is available at www.business.gov.au/bbrf.