Allied councils to lobby government

A NEW Greater Ballarat Alliance of Councils officially became operational last week.

The alliance includes the six regional and rural municipalities in and around Ballarat, and replaces the Central Highlands Councils of Victoria.

Staff and councillors of member organisations the City of Ballarat, and Central Goldfields, Pyrenees, Hepburn, Golden Plains, and Moorabool shires, will aim to lobby the State and Federal governments as a united group to access infrastructure funding.

The alliance’s areas of priority are improving public and private transport, digital connectivity, and housing accessibility, and managing growth across communities.

GBAC was launched at the Creswick Town Hall on Friday morning by the Minister for Local Government, and Member for Ballarat, Catherine King, and City of Ballarat mayor Cr Des Hudson was named inaugural chair.

“Strong regional communities need strong regional voices and that is what the Greater Ballarat Alliance of Councils will deliver for our community,” he said.

Moorabool Shire mayor Cr Rod Ward said working together will mean better outcomes for everyone.

“Especially those on the underserviced peri-urban fringes of Melbourne and Ballarat,” he said.

“Catherine has said, from a Federal Government point of view, that dealing with over 600 local councils is quite a challenge, so for us to be able to collaborate and work as a collective for matters of common interest is a dual opportunity.”

Cr Ward said the condition of the Western Highway, and phone reception, are problems concerning all stakeholders.

“We’d like to see increased investment there, as well as increased mobile coverage, which remains a hot topic,” he said.

“We look forward to further discussing this with telecommunications providers about how we can improve those black spots.”

Pyrenees Shire mayor Cr Ron Eason said GBAC “will help everyone that’s a member,” and possibly those that aren’t.

“It’s designed to be more effective for all our communities,” he said. “Our area needs good transport links, so that’s one of the major elements that we hope can possibly come from this.”