Queensland’s regional workers, their families and the communities they live in will receive more funding to assist in the post-COVID recovery, following the finalisation of arrangements for the Palaszczuk Government’s $100 million Resources Community Infrastructure Fund (RCIF).
Treasurer and Minister for Planning and Infrastructure Cameron Dick said the Fund would deliver $100 million over three years towards projects targeted at improving economic and social infrastructure across Queensland’s resources communities.
“While COVID-19 has wrought terrible damage on the lives and businesses of Queenslanders, some of our traditional, regionally-focussed industries like mining and agriculture have spared us from even greater economic damage,” the Treasurer said.
“They’ve kept Queenslanders employed and continued to generate export revenue for our state.
“I am pleased that by partnering with Queensland’s mining sector, we are able to deliver for regional resource communities through this new fund,”
The RCIF will supplement existing planned State community infrastructure, as well as the investment by resource companies.
As part of the 2019-20 Budget and to get the RCIF rolling, the State committed to contributing $30 million to the RCIF over three years.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the State and the Queensland Resources Council have settled arrangements for resource companies to make contributions to the voluntary fund totalling $70 million over three years.
QRC Chief Executive Ian Macfarlane said the RCIF would be in additional to the $74 billion in economic contributions to the Queensland economy including more than $5 billion in royalty payments to the Queensland Government.
“The agreement on the Fund also delivers on the Government’s commitment in May last year to maintain the current rate and threshold for coal and metal royalties.”
An expert Advisory Committee, comprising Government, resource community and industry representatives, will review and make recommendations for allocating funding for community infrastructure projects in Queensland resource communities.