Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-11-02 Daily Xml

Contents

Regional Growth Fund

139 The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) ().28 September 2022).

1. When will the minister commence a review of the funding guidelines and the purposes of the regional growth fund?

2. When is the review of the regional growth fund expected to be completed?

3. Will the findings of the review be made public?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries): I am advised:

The regional growth fund (RGF) commenced under the former government in 2018 with a strategic and competitive pool of funding. Since that time, at the direction of the former minister, the fund was modified to include no less than seven programs with different application processes and eligibility criteria.

Due to this highly variable nature of the program, it has presented a challenging environment to conduct a full evaluation of the RGF and all its sub programs against the initial objectives.

The government's review of the RGF will be followed by the announcement of new guidelines for the fund.