A REGIONAL politician will lead a consultative group to advise the Victorian Government on providing better regional services. Member for Northern Victoria, Jaclyn Symes, will lead the Regional Transport Advisory Group, which will advise the Government on the development of its Regional Network Development Plan. Joining Ms Symes will be Gippsland business leader Richard Elkington as co-chair of the group, which will drive community consultation over the coming months. Ms Symes said while the groups final composition is yet to be finalised, it will include representatives from all over regional Victoria to ensure comprehensive community input into the development of the plan, which will set short, medium and longterm priorities for regional public transport services. The Regional Network Development Plan will move Victoria away from ad hoc service improvements, towards a more coordinated regional public transport network where train and bus services work together to get people where they need to go, she said. The plan will also consider infrastructure upgrades, network extension and rolling stock, including next generation high capacity regional trains to cater for peak demand. Caption Text: MS SYMES