G21 travels to nation’s capital for City Deal assurance

LOBBYING body G21 Geelong Region Alliance travelled to Canberra last week to meet with senior politicians in the hope of negotiating the “glacial pace” of the Geelong City Deal, which the federal Coalition government committed to funding in October last year.

With the federal election on the horizon, G21 chief executive officer Elaine Carbines said the purpose of the group’s visit was to make sure the government understood how important the projects were in driving the economy.

“G21 is concerned that the state and federal governments have yet to agree on crucial elements of the City Deal, including what projects will be funded and when the (final) deal will be signed.

“Discussions between Canberra and Spring Street seem to have stalled, or at the very least they are moving at a glacial pace. That is a problem. We don’t want politics to threaten the significant economy building projects a City Deal would bring to Geelong and the region.”

Ms Carbines said the one-day trip was very busy, attending several productive meetings with politicians including Alan Tudge, Dan Tehan, Anthony Albanese, as well as Prime Minister Scott Morrison and opposition leader Bill Shorten.

The G21 CEO also said the “mis-match” in commitments between the state and federal governments was concerning, with the federal government choosing to fund a catalogue of additional projects.

“A City Deal is meant to align three tiers of government investment to accelerate economic growth and job creation, stimulate infrastructure renewal and drive business opportunity,” she said.

“People also deserve to know that all projects flagged by the Coalition for the City Deal will
be honoured and funded by an incoming Labor government, should Labor be successful at the election, whether through a City Deal or from elsewhere in the budget.

“We wanted to impress upon the opposition that they need to find a way to fund these important additional projects so they’re not lost.”

The foundation projects include the Geelong convention and exhibition centre, the Shipwreck Coast Master Plan and Revitalising Central Geelong.

“We certainly felt we got a very good hearing from the Prime Minister, but it was made very clear that we wouldn’t know any more until the federal budget is finalised in April,” Ms Carbines said.