54328 (2024). Hon Barbara Edmonds to the Minister for Infrastructure

54328 (2024). Hon Barbara Edmonds to the Minister for Infrastructure: Is it the Ministers intention to unlock funding for local government without increasing rates by using city and regional deals, if so, how does he intend to do this?

Hon Chris Bishop: Given the current fiscal constraints on central and local government, the Regional Deal (Deal) model we have developed is underpinned by existing funding and financing tools and capacity. However, my expectation is Deals will be further supported by new financing tools currently under development and private sector investment. This means central government’s contributions to Deals could include a range of financing tools, regulatory relief, and enabling of coordination between regions and central government. For example, components of a Deal could include: • coordination of capital commitments and investment pipelines across a range of areas such as transport, education, health, and other aspects of government investment which supports growth in a region; • enabling new funding and financing tools, or prioritising access to these tools for those regions with Deals; • sector-specific commitments such as accommodation levies or sharing royalties from the mineral estate; and regulatory relief, including legislative changes to be advanced through local bills.