A new $631 million blueprint that was unveiled last month by the Victorian Government will drive economic growth in regional and rural Victoria by attracting jobs and population growth, major new investment and more opportunities for young people to keep them living and working locally.

Premier John Brumby and Regional and Rural Development Minister Jacinta Allan unveiled Ready for Tomorrow: A Blueprint for Regional and Rural Victoria which outlines a new strategy to support future population growth and planning that will guide sustainable economic and social growth in Victoria’s regions.

Ready for Tomorrow commits $631 million across five key strategies:

• $110.1 million for investing in skills and young people with a new tertiary education package to deliver more opportunities in tertiary education for young people and to make it more attractive for them to stay in or return to the regions.
• Backing jobs and industry with $99.4 million towards a new action plan to create thousands of new jobs, boost regional industries and help small business.
• $203.9 million for building infrastructure, and connecting communities to provide regional Victorians with world-class infrastructure in water, cleaner energy, transport and industry development, improvements to broadband services, local roads, timber roads, bridges, bus service expansion as well as more affordable housing.
• $158.4 million for supporting the Regional and Rural way of life with funding for sports clubs, cultural activities and community.
• Planning Better Regions – a new Partnership backed by $58.9 million to establish a new approach to regional planning and development including significant funding to support the planning and design of regional cities and towns, support for the development of new growth areas in regional cities, support for future planning in coastal areas and local government.

Mr Brumby said that the blue print “will take this one step further towards what planners love to call “a poly-centric state” - with major regional centres in Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, the Latrobe Valley and other regional cities connected to Melbourne through a fast and efficient rail and road network.”