100 days to go: Bring Parliament back to regional Victoria

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20 August 2026

With 100 days until the Victorian election, Regional Cities Victoria is calling on all political parties to commit to holding regional sittings of Parliament at least twice a year.

RCV Chair Cr Ben Blain said regional sittings of Parliament are more than a symbolic or costly gesture – they are an investment in regional communities and a demonstration that Victoria’s regions matter to the people who govern them.

“Please don’t tell regional Victorians that bringing Parliament to us twice a year is too expensive while asking us to help pay for a $200 billion railway that will never come anywhere near us.”

Cr Blain said regional communities had seen too many commitments disappear while billions continued to flow into Melbourne.

“We were promised the Commonwealth Games. They disappeared. The Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund was scrapped. Our roads have deteriorated while Melbourne has had its Big Build,” he said.

“That’s why we’re calling for a $1 billion Regional Fund to create jobs, unlock more homes and invest in the infrastructure our growing cities need, and a $2 billion Regional Roads Package to finally fix our broken roads. 

“These are investments in the future of Victoria, but too often the decisions about our future are made without regional Victoria in the room.

“Government is very good at connecting things to regional Victoria – like transmission lines for renewables to power the state’s future. It hasn’t been nearly as good at staying connected to regional Victorians. Distance from Spring Street has too often meant distance from the decisions that shape our future.

“Regional Victorians are constantly coming to Parliament House to make our case. We travel to Melbourne, knock on doors, request meetings and compete for 15 minutes in diaries because decisions made in Spring Street have enormous consequences for our communities.”

The last time both Houses of Parliament sat in regional Victoria was in 2012, when the Legislative Assembly travelled to Ballarat and the Legislative Council sat in Bendigo.

“Regional sittings also support local accommodation, hospitality and businesses, open Parliament to regional students and residents, and give MPs from across Victoria an opportunity to experience the communities affected by their decisions.

“After years of regional communities being forced to go to Melbourne to be heard, it’s time the Parliament of Victoria came back to listen.”

ENDS

Media: Emily Broadbent
0413 133 627

BACKGROUND

The last regional sitting was the Legislative Council in Echuca on 18 April 2024, held in recognition of communities recovering from the 2022 floods. Before that, the Legislative Council sat in Bright in 2021 after the bushfires.

A regional sitting must originate as a motion from the House and the Governor must issue a proclamation to enable the house to meet outside Parliament House.

The last time both Houses of the Victorian Parliament sat in regional Victoria was 6 September 2012, when the Legislative Assembly sat in Ballarat and the Legislative Council in Bendigo. 

Regional sittings originated under the Bracks Government in 2001. 

Scrap the SRL? Invest $3 billion in regional Victoria

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12 August 2026

Regional Cities Victoria (RCV) says billions earmarked for Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop could be redirected to regional roads, housing, infrastructure and jobs, declaring it is time to rebalance Victoria’s infrastructure priorities.

RCV Chair Cr Ben Blain, speaking at Parliament House today,  said regional communities had watched billions flow into major metropolitan projects while regional roads deteriorated, the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund was scrapped and councils were asked to shoulder increasing costs.

“People want to live in regional Victoria. The opportunity is already there – what we are missing is the investment to match it,” Cr Blain said.

“If the Suburban Rail Loop is abandoned, I can tell the next government exactly where to start with some of those billions.

“Give regional Victoria $2 billion over four years to fix our roads and $1 billion toward infrastructure to unlock housing and kick-start job-creating precincts.

“That $3 billion that could start changing regional communities immediately.”

RCV is calling on all parties contesting the November state election to commit to:

• an additional $2 billion Regional Roads Package over four years to address the deteriorating condition of regional roads; and
• a $1 billion Regional Fund to unlock enabling infrastructure, housing, investment and jobs across regional Victoria.
  

Cr Blain said the state election presented an opportunity to reset the relationship between Spring Street and regional Victoria after years of frustration over the balance of government investment.

“We watched the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund disappear while enormous investments continued to be made in Melbourne,” Cr Blain said.

“We’ve watched our roads get worse, and new costs imposed on our communities through things like the Emergency Services Volunteer Fund, and too often regional Victorians feel their concerns aren’t being heard.

“The next government has the opportunity to right those wrongs.

“Regional Victoria is growing. People want to live there. Businesses want to invest there. But we need roads, housing and enabling infrastructure to turn that demand into long-term prosperity.

“Regional Victoria isn’t asking to be saved. We’re asking government to stop making growth harder than it needs to be.

“If there are billions of dollars freed up from the Suburban Rail Loop, regional Victoria is ready with a plan for more homes and more jobs,” Cr Blain said.

“And unlike the SRL, you won’t have to wait decades to see the difference.”

ENDS

Media: Emily Broadbent
0413 133 627

Regional Cities invites new Premier to regional Victoria

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4 August 2026

Regional Cities Victoria (RCV) has welcomed Premier Ben Carroll’s new ministry and has extended an invitation for the Premier and his ministers to reconnect with regional Victoria and renew focus on the regional economies helping drive the state’s future.

Chair Cr Ben Blain said RCV stood ready to host the Premier in any of Victoria’s 10 largest regional cities to show firsthand the opportunities, challenges and enormous potential that exist beyond Melbourne.

“We’d love to welcome the Premier to one of our regional cities and show him what’s happening on the ground,” Cr Blain said.

“Regional Victoria isn’t just where you go for a weekend away. There’s a lot of economic opportunity waiting to be unlocked. Our communities are growing, we’re building homes, creating jobs and backing the industries that can support the state’s future. There is so much to capitalise on and invest in outside the metropolitan boundary.”

Cr Blain thanked former Premier Jacinta Allan for her service and acknowledged her longstanding connection to regional Victoria.

“Jacinta Allan was a champion of regional Victoria, but somewhere along the way the Government lost touch with the needs of rural and regional communities,” Cr Blain said.

“The Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund that helped communities get important projects off the ground was scrapped. Regional and rural Victorians continue to pay more because of policies like the Emergency Services Volunteer Fund levy. Billions have been invested in metropolitan rail and road projects meanwhile regional roads are busted and broken.

“It’s these things that have left a lot of people wondering whether the regions – and the rural communities they support – are still part of the conversation.”

Cr Blain said RCV was keen to work with the Carroll Government to rebuild regional economic development.

“We’re asking for a $1 billion Regional Fund to unlock even more housing and jobs, and an extra $2 billion on top of the existing maintenance spend to fix regional roads. We want to restore confidence to help build the economies that growing regions need,” Cr Blain said.

“I want to assure the new Premier, once you leave Melbourne, you don’t leave opportunity behind – you find it.”

Media: Emily Broadbent
0413 133 627