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Liberals To Provide Face-To-Face Link With Country Vics

The Liberal Party today launched its CountryLink initiative.

By Phillip Davis - 23rd March 2006 - Back to News

The Liberal Party today launched its CountryLink initiative, an innovative policy to provide country Victorians with face-to-face and user-friendly access to streamlined government services through 40 ‘one-stop-shop’ government service centres in country towns.

The CountryLink policy, launched in Beaufort today, will provide country Victorians with straightforward access to federal, state and local government services via face-to-face interaction, phone assistance and state of the art technology.

A Liberal Government will provide $11 million for up to 40 CountryLink shops in country towns, which will be determined through a tendering process.

CountryLink will give country Victorians a one-stop-shop with access to a range of bill payment options such car registration and licence fees as well as provide registration forms, information on government programs as well as access to government assistance payments such as Centrelink.

It is intended that CountryLink will interface, when appropriate, with existing municipal customer service centres and the Federal Government’s Rural Transaction Centres.

Despite the Bracks Government’s promises, it has failed to provide real services and deliver results to country Victorians.

Many government services are still centralised in Melbourne offices, while access to face-to-face government service has diminished.

The Liberal Party has listened to the needs of country Victorians and recognises that Victorians, regardless of where they live, require and deserve the same access to services as those living in Melbourne or larger regional cities.

Country Victorians often have to travel long distances just to pay their bills, while access to the internet can be limited in remote areas and comes at a greater cost. Country Victorians shouldn’t have to face an uphill battle for access to services or feel discriminated against because they live in the country.

CountryLink draws on the successful Service Tasmania model which has been operative since 1999. There are currently 26 Service Tasmania shops providing one-stop access to more than 480 government services and transactions. In the last financial year alone, it processed more than 1.2 million face-to-face transactions and 700,000 internet transactions and has doubled patronage since 2000.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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