The Victorian government has been criticised for its lack of commitment to the Albury Wodonga Regional Deal after the federal government announced an $80 million funding commitment today.
The deal was announced in 2018 with the hope of bringing all levels of government together to promote economic development in the region.
Federal Member for Farrer Sussan Ley made the pre-budget announcement that will see an additional $37.8 million contributed by Albury City Council and $12.1 million from Wodonga Council.
"There's been a lot of negotiations. There's been a reluctance by Victoria to sign up to this and the Commonwealth has therefore decided to go ahead right now in this budget with both local councils," she said.
While the NSW government was also yet to officially commit, Ms Ley said an announcement from the state government was expected soon.
"We know that NSW is coming on board really soon and I would really encourage Victoria to do the same," Ms Ley said.
Health a priority
Ten projects will share in the funding, chosen from consultations with the community and six reference groups in the region.
Health care on the border is a key feature with Albury Wodonga Health to receive $20 million for future infrastructure plans.
Albury Mayor Kylie King welcomed the news and said she was hopeful the money would go towards funding a new hospital.
"Health is a real focus and that's really where we need to drive a lot of our resources," she said.
Funding of $15 million will also go towards housing and accommodation for workers in the health sector to attract and retain workers.
"Unfortunately we're very close to Albury Wodonga Health being completely broken," Ms Ley said.
"If Victoria continues to refuse to fund adequately and equitably our health system on the border, then it may well be time for NSW to walk away from that and it may well be time for an alternate model to be proposed."
A 'failed' deal
Wodonga Mayor Kevin Poulton also expressed his disappointment in the lack of commitment by the Victorian government but said he remained hopeful.
"What [the Victorian government has] said is they'll commit to it when they're ready, essentially," he said.
"Hopefully history is written correctly in the future.
"I don't want anyone to discount the work that's been done so far because it's been extremely valuable."
Meanwhile, independent federal Member for Indi Helen Haines labelled the deal a failure and said it was more of an election promise.
"They have failed to deliver on the aspirations of the Regional Deal and they have failed to bring everyone to the table and failed to show leadership," she said.
"The government has rushed out an announcement to save face."
Victoria won't be rushed
Victoria's Minister for Regional Development Mary-Anne Thomas said the state government supported the Regional Deal but was in no rush to sign up.
"Victoria remains loyal to Australia's first cross-border Regional Deal that benefits the long-term interests and aspirations of the Albury Wodonga community, but we will not sign up to a deal that fails to deliver a truly community-driven, transformational vision for the Albury Wodonga region," she said.
"The community deserves nothing less.
"Victoria sees the long-term benefits of this agreement for the region and will work with all partners to get it right."
She raised concerns the deal was focused on short-term investments that were being rushed through to meet deadlines of the looming federal election rather than delivering projects that would unlock the region's economic potential.
"We welcome $80 million of investment by the Commonwealth into the region. But let's be clear, $80 million for a ten-year deal is not transformational," she said.
Ms Thomas said the state government had invested more than $100 million in the region in the past four years.
