Addressing a packed room at the Regional Development Summit in Ballarat yesterday, the Minister used the set-piece speech to sketch what he described as "the work of the next twelve months" — three priorities, in this order: skills, connectivity, housing.
On skills, the Minister pointed to persistent vacancies in regional trades and flagged a review of apprenticeship incentives. The full terms of reference will be published within a fortnight.
Connectivity and housing
The digital connectivity announcement — a nominal $240 million for "last-mile" upgrades — was greeted with polite interest by the audience of council and industry figures. Several attendees questioned privately whether the sum would reach beyond the largest regional centres.
Housing drew the sharpest response. The Minister conceded that "supply is the binding constraint" but offered no new funding, instead promising a review of planning frameworks in partnership with state governments.
The Opposition's regional spokesperson, who attended but did not speak, said afterwards that the speech was "strong on diagnosis, weak on delivery timelines."