As I head back to Canberra and reflect upon what I have been hearing in Mallee in recent weeks, I am preparing - as Shadow Minister for Regional Development – to talk about Regional Development at next week’s Regional Australia Institute event in Canberra.

Swan Hill people tell me they are frustrated that there is not enough investment and support for existing industries and they have felt forced either to creatively look for funding or – God forbid – relocate elsewhere to seek better opportunities.

To mix metaphors, while it is always healthy and good management to not have all your (economic) eggs in one basket, sometimes regional development advocates fail to see the forest for the trees.  Sometimes the strong cases for regional development are with existing industries who want a fair go at government funding and support to grow local jobs.

In recent times, too often under Labor ‘regional development’ imposes something foreign to communities, making regional development something governments do to communities, not with them.

Under these neglectful and painful years of Federal and State Labor governments, energy transition projects or mining proposals feel foreign and foisted upon us.  Our region has its pre-existing strengths and with genuine consultation and proper investment, Swan Hill can become a regional or even national powerhouse.

I saw some shocking information this week from one think-tank pointing out that at least $108 million came from foreign donors to underwrite activist groups that pushed shutting down our existing energy security strengths and promoting the Labor policy agenda.  $108 million is more than Labor and the Coalition spent combined at the last federal election.

Labor and the Greens rage about foreign interference yet are happy to ride on the coattails of foreign money undermining our economic strengths.

So forgive me if I am sceptical of snake oil salespeople coming to regions claiming potential economic windfalls, throwing loose change to local community groups when the significant project profits largely go offshore, post-project rehabilitation is shoddy and the jobs are largely in the construction phase for mainly fly-in, fly-out workers.

Regional Australia deserves respect and, frankly, a lot better.