"What we're hearing is a call for a long-term plan where central and local government and businesses are going to work together."
He said Labour was working on regional economic plans for every region in New Zealand and settled on district council boundaries rather than broader regional council lines.
"It's not about coming in and saying this is what we're going to do but working with groups to find out where the jobs and opportunities could be. Because there are things like infrastructure to consider - the roads, rail links, the port. That's what concerns me because everywhere I go I'm made aware of a decline in regional infrastructure," Mr Robertson said.
He said he was sceptical of the Government's regional growth study launched last year.
"They sound good but when you divide that down to an individual community they often don't mean much at all. There doesn't seem to be anything new."
He said it was about looking to the future of Whanganui, what's going to bring people here, see them contributing to the community, and ensuring there are jobs to bring them here.
"There's so much more we can do when central government acts as a partner with local government and businesses. We have to away from those big areas like Manawatu-Whanganui. A regional growth strategy like that isn't the same as a plan just for Whanganui."
Mr Robertson said Government needed to have more faith in the regions themselves.