PM Transcripts

14 5/
PRIME MINISTER
STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON P J KEATING MP
REGIONAL VICTORIA FEDERAL TOURISM FUNDING
Regional Victoria is to receive almost $ 500,000 in Federal funding to help it become
more involved in the State's growing tourism industry.
The funding will be provided under the four year, $ 23 million Regional Tourism
Development Program ( RTDP) which aims to help spread the economic and social
benefits of tourism beyond metropolitan Australia.
Grants will go to six key tourism projects covering areas from Bendigo to the
Dandenongs. The largest grant of $ 213,000 will go to the Bendigo Tourism Board, to relocate the
visitors centre from Kangaroo Flat to the city's recently restored historic post office.
This funding recognises Bendigo's importance to the State's tourism industry,
particularly as the regional gateway to the goldfields of central Victoria.
An additional $ 55,000 grant will enable a signage system to be developed throughout
the goldfields to educate people about the region's grand history, including its fine
buildings which are a legacy of the gold rush era.
A new tourist information centre at Heathcote, to receive $ 100,000 in funding, will not
only highlight that town's natural assets it will provide information on attractions
throughout the broader region, including the ' Pink Cliffs' which developed their unique
character as a result of past gold-mining activity.
Other funding includes $ 71,500 to build a world-class walking track along the Great
Ocean Road between Cape Otway and Princetown, $ 45,000 to develop a tourist drive
with linked walking tracks from the Puffing Billy Steam Train in the Dandenong Ranges
through the Casey Cardinia and Westernport regions, and $ 15,000 to develop a tourist
trail along the rail line between Mirboo North and Boolarra.
Regional Australia can offer both domestic and international tourists a wealth of
experiences that they could not find in our major cities.
Tourism is one of Victoria's growth industries, currently employing around 130,000
people and pumping more than $ 7 billion annually into the State economy.
BEN DIGO
12 DECEMBER 1995