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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-06-07 Daily Xml
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RIVERLAND SUSTAINABLE FUTURES FUND

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (14:49): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Regional Development a question regarding the Riverland restructure grants program.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE: Following work done in the Riverland by the Riverland Futures Taskforce, the government allocated $21 million over the forward estimates to assist new and existing businesses to grow and develop economic opportunity in the Riverland. My questions to the minister are:

1. How much of the year 1 grant funding allocation has been distributed?

2. If it is not all allocated in year 1, will there be a rollover of that money rather than it going back to Treasury?

3. Are existing businesses in the Riverland eligible to apply for the grants program based on expansion opportunities?

4. Can the minister give some indication of the types of businesses that have received grants so far?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Public Sector Management, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for Gambling) (14:50): I understand that you are talking about the $20 million Riverland Sustainable Futures Fund. That $20 million fund is made available over four years and is accessible by organisations, industries or businesses to fund projects that make a major or sustainable impact on the region. It is really about assisting the long-term future of that region.

Critical to its success is the ability to leverage from the fund to achieve even greater impact, from other spheres of government and the private sector, for projects that result in tangible outcomes for the Riverland. DTED is leading the collaboration with Primary Industries and Resources SA (PIRSA) and other agencies and key regional stakeholders, including the Riverland Futures Taskforce as well as the RDA, and we are also looking at leverage in relation to federal RDA funding. We know that over a billion dollars worth of funding has been announced by the federal government in relation to funds to be made available through the RDA process, and we are also looking to leverage this sort of funding in relation to those federal contributions.

So, not only do you get double for your money in terms of us offering a 50 per cent leverage, there is also another 50 per cent leverage in terms of federal contributions. Members can see how important it is to be able to leverage. The futures fund has guidelines, as well as the Riverland Regional Prospectus, which was launched in the Riverland at the end of 2010. The guidelines and the application forms are accessible from the Futures Taskforce website and the RDA Murraylands and Riverland website or DTED. The details of the eligibility criteria are all outlined there and are on the public record for the honourable member to look at.

As I said, the fund's aim is to facilitate projects and improve infrastructure, support industry attraction and help grow existing businesses. It is expected that over time this initiative will help deliver structural change and population growth, as well as enhanced employment outcomes for the Riverland. The fund will focus on ensuring that the key enablers of the economy are in place to build on the existing strengths of the region and to help improve its competitive advantage as well.

An amount of $2 million has been committed from the fund to the Flinders University Rural Clinical School project subject to its successful application for federal funding, and we have not yet heard back from the federal government. The Flinders application to the federal government Structural Adjustment Fund seeks $25.7 million, and the total project costs are $31.3 million. A DTED interdepartmental assessment panel has assessed applications of greater than $40,000, in accordance with the guideline, and the panel's inaugural meeting was held in February this year, with recommendations forwarded to me for consideration.

Six projects of less than $40,000 each, totalling $0.139 million, have been assessed by the RFT assessment panel for my consideration and, of these, two totalling $30,975 have been approved. I recently announced the awarding of approximately $620,000 to AgriExchange to bring forward the construction of a citrus packing facility, and I am advised that the AgriExchange's expansion project will enable the company to produce an additional 1 million cartons of juice. I have given a number of details about that particular project in this house before, so I will not go over it again.

The 2010-11 funding remains underspent. I have already put on record in this place that I have requested that all outstanding or unspent funds be carried over into the Riverland Sustainable Futures Fund for future funding for this particular project as per our election commitment.

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