Housing support program a boost for regional cities

CHAIR of Regional Cities Victoria Shane Sali has welcomed the announcement by the Albanese Government of a $500m Housing Support Program.

The program will help local government make it quicker, easier and more affordable for people to build new homes in the area.

RCV comprises the 10 largest regional cities in Victoria – Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong, Horsham, Latrobe, Mildura, Shepparton, Wangaratta, Warrnambool and Wodonga.

“RCV welcomes the Commonwealth’s efforts towards establishing new homes because councils need funds to address the immediate barriers to making this happen,” Cr Sali said.

Cr Sali said bolstering the planning workforce was a priority for RCV.

“Regional Victoria is experiencing extreme challenges due to a state-wide shortage of statutory planners and surveyors.

“It is causing delays in issuing building and planning permits for much-needed housing.

“More than 40 houses need to be built in regional Victoria every single day for the next 10 years to meet the Victorian Government’s Housing Statement targets.

“The announcement from the Federal Government is a welcome start because we need to see more investment across regional Victoria.

“It will help provide local government with the support necessary to ensure sustainable growth and development for our communities.

“This is especially important given the pace of growth in our regional cities, because asking councils to take on more debt cannot be the answer.

“RCV is committed to strengthening our regional economies, encouraging sustainable growth and maximising regional liveability.

“We want to help build a prosperous regional Victoria through investment in infrastructure and services that keep costs down and help regions grow.”