I welcome the $200 million Regional Recovery Package we announced as a State Government today, which includes a new $50 million Regional Events Package, Round two of the $30 million Regional Jobs Creation Fund, and $40 million for priority infrastructure projects across Regional NSW.
Regional NSW – especially our region – has been hit hard by the Delta outbreak, and this announcement demonstrates the NSW Government’s commitment to make sure regional areas bounce back better than ever before.
We’re turbocharging the COVID-19 recovery across regional NSW.
The new $25 million Community Events Package will help local councils stage events like festivals and picnics, which will help our towns reconnect and celebrate being together again.
There’s $20 million for the Regional Events Acceleration Fund – the same fund that helped bring NRL games to Mudgee and Dubbo this year, and all the excitement and spending that came with it!
And there’s also $5 million dedicated to country shows to ensure these vital social events can return in a big way in 2022.
But it’s not just tourism – we’re also investing in regional areas in a more permanent way, with $40 million to be targeted at infrastructure projects, plus an extra $30 million for the Regional Job Creation Fund.
That’s the fund we’ve already seen delivering jobs at EarlyRise Bakery, The Little Big Dairy co and Fletcher International, with a total of almost $6 million leveraging private investment of over $18 million, to create more than 880 full-time equivalent jobs!
This is so much more than just recovery – it’s setting our regions up for the next generation!