Rural & Regional Victoria
For too long, regional communities have been left behind. We’re here to change that.
From the coast to the bush, the Greens have a plan to ensure Victorians get the services they deserve, and the solutions we need for a better life.
The Liberals, Nationals, One Nation and Labor all take donations from the same corporations driving up our everyday costs. But the Greens don’t – we’re people powered and we’re fighting for you.
Explore our plan for Rural & Regional Victoria
- Address the housing shortage
-
The Greens will double the amount of public housing in Victoria, including in regional Victoria, so people across the state have real options and make more housing available.
We will also make unlimited rent increases illegal and strengthen renters’ rights, for example by allowing renters to stay when their home is sold.
- Make renewables and transmission lines fairer for regional Victorians
-
Regional Victoria is playing a key role in helping get Victoria off dirty, expensive coal and gas, but the transition has to be a just one.
Renewable energy projects and transmission lines need genuine local engagement, community benefits programs which flow straight to local communities, and community ownership models.
- Money for disaster clean-up
-
The Greens want to see proper funding to help communities recover from fires, floods and extreme weather, paid for by the people who caused the problem – big polluters, like BHP, Woodside and ExxonMobil.
- More frequent and better connected public transport
-
People in rural and regional Victoria deserve better public transport options, including buses and trains, within and between towns. The Greens will:
- Run regional trains and coaches more often, by investing $245 million in frequency improvements.
- Upgrade local buses in regional Victoria, as part of our $270 million investment in improving bus services.
- Give Infrastructure Victoria the power to do our transport planning, instead of basing it on politics. Depending on the priorities set by the transport plan, we expect to see increased capacity on regional rail lines to address overcrowding, electrification of the line to Melton and bypass tracks for V/Line, and longer platforms on some V/Line stations to enable longer trains to use them safely, reducing overcrowding.
- More fire trucks
-
Our fire trucks are ageing and not getting replaced fast enough. The Greens will invest $200 million now, to replace ageing trucks, as well as legislating an annual rolling replacement program to ensure fire trucks are replaced when they reach the end of their life. So volunteers fighting bush fires have the trucks they need.
- Fixing our roads
-
Our roads are crumbling, and getting worse.
Labor and the Coalition have privatised road maintenance across Victoria. This creates an incentive to cut corners and drive up costs, and money that goes to private profits isn't going into fixing our roads.
The Greens will bring road maintenance back into public hands.
We will reinvest any savings into actually fixing potholes and our roads, cutting out corporate profit. WA has done it, Victoria can do the same by first establishing an urgent inquiry to provide a clear roadmap for bringing both road maintenance and VicRoads back into public hands.
- More childcare
-
There are early childhood education deserts across large sections of regional Victoria. The Greens want to see more government-funded early learning and childcare centres, to meet families’ needs.
- Making sure country people get proper healthcare
-
The Greens will establish a parliamentary inquiry in rural and regional healthcare in Victoria and develop a regional and rural health workforce strategy, to make sure country people can access care when they need it.
- Proudly multicultural
-
Victoria is a proudly multicultural state, and that includes regional Victoria. Migrants are the backbone of our regional health services and many of the best eateries in regional Victoria are owned and operated by migrant families. Regional Victoria is proud of being multicultural and so are the Greens.
- Agriculture and water
-
Food and water are essential for life, but agriculture is increasingly dominated by corporate mega-farms, productive green wedges are being developed, and our rivers are running dry.
The Greens believe we need a resilient food supply and to look after our rivers for the long term.