The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has released a policy roadmap aimed at unlocking a once-in-a-generation economic boom for regional Victoria, urging all political parties to back the state’s resources sector ahead of the November election.
Releasing the Mining Victoria: A Prosperity Agenda for Regional Victoria report, MCA Victoria Executive Director James Sorahan said soaring global gold prices and skyrocketing demand for critical minerals have presented the state with an unprecedented opportunity to secure long-term regional growth.
The MCA is calling on political leaders to commit to a series of statutory and financial reforms designed to deliver a new wave of gold, mineral sands, and rare earth element projects by 2035.
Victoria is already home to major historic goldfields sustaining operations in Bendigo, Ballarat, and Stawell, as well as the nation’s only operational antimony mine at Costerfield.
To convert this resource bounty into local prosperity, the MCA has established four core legislative priorities. Foremost among them is a demand to drastically reduce bureaucratic approval timeframes for new mining operations to restore investment certainty.
The council is also pushing for targeted state incentives for exploration and processing technologies, alongside explicit school-to-mining career pathways designed to retain regional youth in high-value local careers.
The policy agenda also calls for a major tax reform that would mandate a portion of state mining royalties be funnelled directly back into the regional municipalities hosting the resource assets to fund critical local infrastructure.
“Unlocking a new generation of gold, mineral sands and rare earths projects by 2035 is both realistic and responsible if we want to build a stronger economic base for Victoria,” Sorahan said.
