The hard facts are that our current infrastructure is not holding up to the requirements and demands that we are placing on it.

One just has to go for a drive out of Melbourne or Sydney to really understand how things are…or speak to any truck driver to get a blunt, honest assessment of the state of things.

Of course, I’m an advocate for larger regional centres and reverse migration to our regional areas but we must have the infrastructure, schools, hospitals and the day-to-day services readily available to make this happen and to help ease the burden on our cities.

Victoria is the fastest growing state in Australia.

In 2016, our state grew by 146,000 people - the highest growth rate of any state in living memory.

In the past month alone, an additional 10,500 people have become residents – that’s equivalent to the population of Wodonga moving to Victoria every four months.

But our country communities take in less than 10 per cent of this population growth and in some regions of the state the population is in decline.

Despite this, the current Premier Daniel Andrews has no vision and no plan for regional Victoria and a different approach is needed.

The established Population Policy Taskforce to plan to decentralise Melbourne’s population and develop job opportunities, infrastructure and services in regional Victoria, headed up by the Victorian opposition, is a huge step in the right direction taking the first holistic approach to planning for Victoria’s burgeoning population growth.

Country people are frustrated by the lack of population, a poor transport network and unreliable energy, while a deteriorating regional rail network and country roads make it hard to get from A to B.

For some businesses, energy costs have increased so much it’s impacting their ability to retain and hire employees, while the rapidly changing policy and regulatory environment is affecting business’ ability to invest.

It comes at a time when job losses are at the front of people’s minds.

Jobs are seen as the key piece of the puzzle in attracting and retaining people in regional Victoria. We’ve heard many suggestions about creating opportunities for businesses to move to the regions, including around state taxes and special economic zones.

Our agricultural communities are the backbone of our state’s economy, and we want to make sure they are recognised in plans for our future population.

Our region is entitled to a fair go in the planning of the future of our state.

We who reside in the Border-North East deserve a state government dedicated to delivering future security, opportunity and prosperity for our region, through a targeted decentralisation policy that focuses on stronger regional economies, secure communities, a sustainable environment and the highest possible standard of living.

Stronger, more secure, sustainable local communities that provide the opportunity for everyone to prosper will deliver a stronger, more secure and sustainable Border-North East region.

Marty Corboy was The Nationals Candidate for Indi at the 2016 Federal Election and is a small business operator.