From the Secretariat (Issue 122)
Recognition of Extractive Industry
DR ELIZABETH GIBSON, CMPA General Manager.
It has been quite an eventful couple of months with the Victorian and Federal budgets handed down and a Federal election leading to a change in Government. Congratulations Prime Minister Albanese. So, the Federal budget may now be a moot point but in the Victorian 2023 budget there is strong investment in infrastructure development:
• Infrastructure development:
$18.9 billion (2022)
$21.4 billion (2023)
$23 billion (2024)
$21.7 billion (2025)
$19.2 billion (2026)
• Earth Resources Regulation:
Additional funding of $2 million for Mineral Resources Regulatory Reform – believed to be in part for the implementation of the Better Approvals for Regulators project.
• Road maintenance:
$780 million (2023) road maintenance works across suburban and regional Victoria.
This includes $100 million (2023) for regional road maintenance unfortunately this appears to have been halved from 2022 where the figure for regional road maintenance was $209 million. I am seeking clarification from Government but have not yet had a response.
Also of note was the most welcome recognition of the extractive industry by the Minister for Resources in the Victorian Parliament:
Minister for Resources Jaala Pulford spoke recently in Parliament about the quarry sector’s important role in supplying the raw materials needed for the state’s growth and the work underway to improve the efficiency of regulatory processes.
“Quarry operators – big and small – play a vital role in ensuring affordable and accessible material is available close to where it is needed,” the Minister said. During her address, Minister Pulford outlined some of the
government’s initiatives in support of the expansion of quarry supply.
“Earth Resources Regulation is one of the first regulators in the State to have participated in the Better Approvals for Regulators (BAR) program.”
The BAR program will deliver immediate work plan assessment
improvements for quarries, aim to create process efficiencies and improve transparency for industry.
This will get quarry materials to market more efficiently whilst maintaining stringent environmental and safety standards. “I’d like to take this opportunity to once again thank all quarry operators for their continued support of the Victorian construction industry.”
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