• Wimmera racing investment
The State Government will provide $1.25-million for the first stage of the development of a 100-hectare industrial precinct at Wimmera Intermodal Freight Terminal at Dooen.
Agriculture and Regional Development Minister Jaala Pulford has announced the funding during a visit to the region and Horsham.
The development will add 20 new industrial lots, complete with bitumen road access, street lighting and other amenities, for agribusiness and food and fibre processors.
Estimations are the Horsham Rural City Council project, with an overall price tag of $2.5-million, will generate up to 80 jobs and attract new commercial opportunities at the site.
Hay exporter Johnson Asahi is among firms that have confirmed plans to establish a new base and processing plant at the terminal precinct.
Ms Pulford said the project would ensure Victorian farmers and businesses could continue to grow markets at a global level and stimulate job creation and investment in regional Victoria.
She said the Wimmera was one of Victoria’s largest dryland farming regions and the Wimmera Intermodal Freight Terminal was a key export hub for grain producers.
“By investing in the best infrastructure, we are helping grain growers get more produce from paddock to port more efficiently – that’s good news for growers and Victoria’s booming exports,” she said.
“The Wimmera Intermodal Freight Terminal is on the national rail freight network and further investment at this precinct will create better connections from paddock to port.
“Supporting Victoria’s agriculture sector by investing in key infrastructure is a priority for the government.”
The government is supporting the development through its $200-million Agriculture Infrastructure and Jobs Fund.
Victoria exported $11.9-billion in food and fibre in 2015-16 – more than any other state in Australia.
The sector employs more than 190,000 people and accounts for 29 percent of all Australian farm exports.
Children’s hub
Ms Pulford, who with Premier Daniel Andrews and other ministers visited the Wimmera last week for a Wimmera Southern Mallee Regional Assembly, also toured the construction site of a new Kalkee Road Children’s and Community Hub.
The hub project is supporting 24 local jobs and is backed by $2.6-million in State Government and $900,000 in Federal Government funding.
The Horsham council is investing $896,000 towards the $4.396-million project.
Ms Pulford said the children’s hub would bring together a range of professionals, working together to deliver education, health and support services to children and their families.
She said the integration of services was vitally important in maintaining engagement with vulnerable children and families in Horsham.
The Horsham North hub has been a long time coming and it is fabulous to see such progress being made – and by a local company, Locks Construction,” she said.
“Giving every child the best start is critically important to families in Horsham North, across the region and to the Andrews government and we are thrilled to be supporting this project.”
The new centre will have an offstreet car park, drop-off zone, pedestrian access paths, landscaping and play areas, with provision for a future community barbecue area and community garden.
The hub’s integrated children’s centre will provide children and family services from a single site, including:
• Four rooms for kindergarten services licenced for 93 children, including four-year-old and three-year-old services.
• A new multipurpose space for playgroups, occasional care and community shared use.
Plans are that when completed, the hub will provide social and environmental benefits including the use of the precinct by more than 3000 people annually by the fifth year of operation.
Estimations are that it will also inject millions of dollars into the regional economy.