State of rebellion as ‘rexit’ firms up

A CAMPAIGN for a new “super state” comprising parts of regional Victoria and NSW begins this week.

Victorian Liberal Democrats MP Tim Quilty first proposed the move — dubbed “rexit”, short for “regional exit” — in his maiden speech to parliament in 2018, when he called for country Victoria and NSW to split from their capitals and join forces.

The Parliamentary Budget Office published the radical proposal in December last year after Mr Quilty requested “independent advice” about the economic character of a new state.

Under the proposal, major Victorian regional centres such as Ballarat, Bendigo, Mildura, Wodonga and Shepparton would join the new jurisdiction, alongside NSW hubs Wagga Wagga, Albury, Orange, Bathurst and Griffith.

Mr Quilty said the “rexit” campaign would start this week when he presented his “vision for a new state” to a forum in the border town of Wodonga.

He will host similar events in Rutherglen on March 24 and Tallangatta on April 8.

Mr Quilty said regional centres had been “overlooked by city-focused governments”.

“The COVID pandemic has shone a very bright and very unfavourable light on our treatment,” he said.

“All of these locations are border regions, a long way from Dan Andrews’ focus on Melbourne, and they have all been subject to the destruction of border closures, snap lockdowns and unnecessary COVID restrictions.

“The Premier conceded it was easier to lock down the whole state rather than just Melbourne, and we are paying a heavy price for his lazy shortcuts. I hope my efforts to demonstrate the benefits of forming our own state will be complemented by Mr Andrews’ outstanding work in alienating and insulting 1.6 million regional Victorians.”

Mr Quilty said he had two models for the proposed new state, the first being northern regional Victoria combined with southern regional NSW.

The second was for greater Melbourne and Geelong to form one state, and the greater Sydney region to be its own jurisdiction while the rest of regional Victoria and NSW formed “one big super state”.

The Victorian government denied it ignored regional needs when formulating COVID-19 restrictions.

“We have followed the advice of the chief health officer every step of the way,” a spokeswoman said.

“We know this has had a big impact on regional communities and businesses, which is why we’re delivering an unprecedented amount of support, most recently the $143m circuit-breaker support package.”