One week to go for Royalties for the Regions submissions

Councils have one week left to submit their expressions of interest in round two of Royalties for the Regions.

Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jeff Seeney said there had been a great deal of interest and he expected a large number of applications.

“Informed by the experiences of round one, there have been some changes and improvements to the program,” Mr Seeney said.

“The most significant change to the program has been expansion of eligibility to include all local councils in regional Queensland.

“A total of $95 million is dedicated to round two with a number of road pre-commitments being funded from this round leaving around $49 million for which local governments can apply.

“The competition for these funds will again be fierce and I anticipate that we will not be in a position to fund all worthy projects. 

“The Newman Government remains committed to investing in projects that improve the liveability of resource communities and to ensuring these communities are able to thrive and grow.”

Mr Seeney said the expressions of interest received through round one could not have provided a clearer demonstration of the significant need for infrastructure investment in regional Queensland.

“With $60 million available in round one, local council’s submitted 71 expressions of interest seeking funding of almost $260 million,” he said.

Eighteen successful projects from round one are underway and have received funding of $49.6 million.

These projects will deliver:

• core infrastructure projects such as water and waste management
• infrastructure to support essential community services
• flood mitigation projects to better safeguard communities such as Roma and Emerald
• critical road safety and access improvements across regions impacted by resource development

Expressions of interest close Friday 16 August 2013.

For more information visit - http://www.dsdip.qld.gov.au/grants-and-funding/royalties-for-the-regions.html 

[ENDS] 9 August 2013

Media contact:  Kate Haddan – 0418 373 516