Budget to boost investment and export opportunities
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3 May 2007
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The Victorian Government will invest A$40 million over the next four years to encourage export growth and help Victoria's businesses meet the challenges of the future.
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Minister for Industry and State Development, Theo Theophanous, said the package was part of the Victorian Government's commitment to increase the value of Victoria's exports by 20 per cent to A$35 billion by 2015.
The Victorian Government has a strong economic record, overseeing near record job growth, over A$4 billion in tax cuts, and historic population growth.
The A$40 million package includes:
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- A$9.9 million to encourage export growth by expanding the successful Opening Doors to Export program and creating a new Victorian Export Network website to help Victorian companies find business opportunities overseas;
- A$5.4 million to encourage more import replacement by helping Victorian companies to apply for domestic opportunities through the Industry Capability Network;
- A$2.1 million to create new Tiger Teams of industry leaders to chase footloose investment opportunities and create a new Victorians Abroad program, using the expertise of expatriate Victorians to find overseas business opportunities for Victorian companies;
- A$5 million to expand the Rediscover Victoria program to start a targeted drilling effort to find minerals in parts of the state that have not been explored before;
- A$8.1 million to boost the Strategic Industry Development program, focussing on Victoria's competitive strengths in particular industries such as defence; and
- A$9.3 million to continue the work of the Small Business Commissioner.
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Mr Theophanous said that since 1999, Victorian Government initiatives had attracted nearly A$18 billion of investment and over 43,000 jobs to the State.
"We aim to create 150,000 new jobs over the next four years with the support of programs like these," he said.
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