Mixed bag for Gippsland in Federal Budget
South Gippsland Mayor Nathan Hersey says the Budget delivers wins on regional housing and skills but misses key infrastructure for a growing Gippsland.
Regional housing, cost-of-living relief and skills funding have been welcomed by Gippsland's peak advocacy body in this week's Federal Budget, but the failure to back the shovel-ready Sale Alternate Truck Route has been flagged as a deeply disappointing missed opportunity for the region.
One Gippsland Chair Cr Nathan Hersey said the region continued to deliver for the nation through agriculture, energy and tourism, and needed targeted investment in the everyday enablers that supported a growing population.
"We are one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, and Gippsland's growth must be matched by long-term investment in transport, housing, community infrastructure and essential services," Cr Hersey said.
He welcomed the Budget's $2 billion housing-enabling infrastructure investment, including a $500 million carve-out for regional Australia, saying it reflected One Gippsland's call for roads, water, sewerage and power funding to unlock new housing.
Continued investment in the Growing Regions Program for community and liveability infrastructure was also welcomed, with $750 million committed over four years across the Thriving Suburbs and Growing Regions programs.
Cr Hersey said Gippsland must receive a fair share that reflected the scale of growth across the region.
Cost-of-living measures including a temporary fuel excise cut, worth about 32 cents a litre for petrol and diesel, the reduction of the heavy vehicle road user charge and small business asset write-offs were acknowledged as important for the food, fibre and tourism sectors that relied on the movement of goods and people.
Cr Hersey also welcomed the joint Federal and State investment in the TAFE Centre of Excellence in Gippsland, saying it would advance local young people and recognised Gippsland's role as a national leader in renewable energy and host of Australia's first offshore wind renewable energy zone.
The Budget also included $27 million over three years to expand the TAFE Technology Fund and support mobile vocational training in outer regional and remote areas.
"Continued investment in healthcare, skills and workforce development is essential to ensuring Gippsland communities remain strong and able to support future growth," he said.
But Cr Hersey said the Budget left several critical gaps.
"Although funding for the Black Spot program and the Roads to Recovery program is welcomed, the absence of funding for the shovel-ready Sale Alternate Truck Route is deeply disappointing given its importance to freight efficiency, road safety and east-west connectivity across Gippsland," he said.
The Budget committed $845.9 million in 2026-27 under Roads to Recovery, with $730.7 million directed to regional areas, and $157.4 million under the Black Spot Program, but no Gippsland-specific road or freight projects were listed in the Budget's $8.6 billion infrastructure investment program despite major national freight and fuel-resilience packages.
Cr Hersey also noted the lack of material investment in regional tourism, despite Gippsland's status as a major visitor economy.
"Gippsland is a regional tourism powerhouse, yet the Budget contains no dedicated regional tourism investment and only broad national programs," he said.
Other Budget measures of relevance to the region included $1.8 billion over five years for Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, $2.9 billion in Financial Assistance Grants brought forward into the current financial year, and a permanent $20,000 instant asset write-off for small business.
One Gippsland said it would continue to work with all levels of government on the key enablers of growth and prosperity across the region.
"There are positives in this Budget, but for our economy to truly respond to the challenge before us as a leader in energy and agriculture, we need the right level of investment across all the growth levers," Cr Hersey said.
One Gippsland is a peak regional advocacy body representing more than 270,000 Gippslanders, six local government areas and a region that produces $14 billion in gross regional product annually.
Its members include Bass Coast, Baw Baw, East Gippsland, Latrobe City, South Gippsland and Wellington councils, alongside Destination Gippsland, Federation University, Food and Fibre Gippsland, Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation and TAFE Gippsland.
