[Peetwo]

Perhaps DDDD of NFI D should forget about watching his own visage and study a real statesman; hard at work for 'her' country. There are some outstanding Senators, from all parties, who could teach the mister much. Selfies are all well and good, for private consumption; but, want make friends and influence people – watch a winner.

Fiona Nash (sans Pete) full throttle. Bravo.

More of Senator Nash, less of Barnaby's photogenic filter please...

Via the Oz today:

Regions vital to our continued economic prosperity: Fiona Nash

• Joe Kelly
  
• The Australian
  
• 12:00AM January 5, 2017
  
• @joekellyoz
  [img=0x0]http://pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/author/c1e593b57554afc1c3bc4d1f516c297b/?esi=true&t_product=the-australian&t_template=s3/austemp-article_common/vertical/author/widget&td_bio=false[/img]
  

Nationals deputy leader Fiona Nash has called for a strengthening of decentralisation policies after research from the Grattan Institute revealed nearly half of new jobs growth in the past decade was in capital city centres.

Senator Nash, the Minister for Regional Development, said yesterday it was critical to back rural Australia, noting that the regions produced 67 per cent of the ­nation’s exports and were respons­ible for 45 per cent of domestic tourism — factors she said helped to drive the national economy.

“Regional Australia provides the water, the food, the electricity that powers our cities,” she said.

“We can’t have a strong Aus­tralia without … strong regions.”

The research showed the ­regions were getting a dispropor­tionate share of infrastructure funding, with Sydney, representing about 22 per cent of the national economy, absorbing 5 per cent of federal infrastructure spending in the decade to 2015.

The findings cast doubt on whether the government’s policies to create more economic opportunities in rural Australia, including the Coalition’s decentral­isation agenda, were delivering results, with jobs growth weakening in outer suburbs and regions.

The Coalition’s policy of decentralisation has seen several government agencies relocated from Canberra to the regions, with Senator Nash saying the policy should be expanded to help back in the development of rural Australia.

“We have to back ourselves, back the regions and, where we can, look to strengthen that decentralisation policy,” she said.

Agencies affected by the policy include the Grains Research and Development Corporation, split between Toowoomba, Dubbo, Perth and Adelaide, and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, which has shifted to Adelaide.

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority is being moved to Armidale, in the electorate of Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce; some have condemned that move as a $25 million exercise in pork-barrelling.

 
MTF...P2

Ps