The Federal Budget has focused new spending on bringing together Commonwealth, state and local governments. 

Labor is calling for greater collaboration among the nation’s governments, encouraging bureaucratic cooperation especially among the Labor-led states and territories. 

The government's Budget papers acknowledge that all levels of government have vital roles in delivering essential services to Australians. 

To meet the challenges of the next decade, the government says it is committed to bringing the states and territories together to drive the reforms.

State and territory leaders have agreed that they need to adopt a more consistent approach to key federal budget priorities and have identified three areas that would benefit most from greater collaboration: strengthening Medicare, the NDIS financial sustainability framework, and better planning for stronger growth. 

The government has also announced an investment of almost $160 million in its urban Precincts and Partnerships program and a Regional Investment Framework. 

The framework aims to put people in regional areas “at the centre of decision-making” and will establish a regional development forum for government agencies to better inform commonwealth decisions.

The framework identifies four key priority areas to support regional development - investing in services, people, places and industry. 

“The government is committed to positioning our regions to take advantage of a transitioning world,” it said in a statement.