THE Coolamon Cheese Company is just one of 21 projects around the region set to benefit from $18 million in federal government funding designed to ease the pain of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
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Barry Lillywhite and Anton Green, the driving force behind the project, will use the grant of nearly $500,000 to finish restoring the Coolamon Co-operative Building from which the company will operate out of.
“It’s a substantial grant that really gives us assurance about the future of our project financially,” Mr Green said.
Prior to receiving the grant, Mr Lillywhite and Mr Green had turned to the internet to “crowdsource” their capital by asking people to donate to the concept.
Mr Green estimates their previous fundraising efforts managed to generate three-quarters of the money they needed.
Member for Riverina Michael McCormack said the grant would energise Coolamon and other centres with projects that had shared in the $18 million available.
“It could be argued that some of the successful projects around regional NSW, some people might suggest how that comes into the Murray-Darling Basin, but they are sourcing their products from those areas which were affected by the constraints to water,” he said.
“There is connectivity between recipients and those places which rely on water to grow food and fibre.”
Griffith, hit hard by the basin plan, will receive the lion’s share of the funding – around $4.5 million.
But while the Murray-Darling Basin Economic Diversification Fund has proven a boon for the region, the Riverina has missed out on another key round of government funding. The $1 billion National Stronger Regions Fund was touted by the Nationals last year as a boost for regional areas, but Riverina funding applications were overlooked in favour for projects in Melbourne’s outer suburbs and metropolitan Brisbane.
Mr McCormack said the vast amount of projects from the region didn’t meet the fund’s specific criteria, but conceded it was wrong those that were trumped by submissions from capital cities.
“I believe if it’s a regional program, then it should only be the regions that should be eligible,” he said.