A great day for Geelong’s north

TODAY (Friday, February 9) is a very special day for the northern suburbs and the City of Greater Geelong.

Today, in conjunction with our funding partners, the state and federal governments, we will officially open the Northern Aquatic and Community Hub (NACH) in Norlane.

At $65.6 million, the NACH is council’s largest investment into community infrastructure.

When I stood for election in 2017, the primary motivator was to ensure a strong voice and a fair share for the northern suburbs in the strategic focus and funding allocations from the council.

My personal observations were that the council had been CBD-centric and did not fully understand the true principle of equity.

Equity does not mean you treat everyone the same and provide the same services; it means you intervene to ensure everyone has the same access to services and programs, creating a truly inclusive and equitable society.

Geelong, much like Australia, is a prosperous region. But worldwide industrial economic changes since the 1970s have left vulnerable and disadvantaged communities behind. Norlane and Corio rank as the largest concentration of poverty in Victoria, if not the country.

The NACH project for me started in 2016, when the idea was floated to create a health and wellbeing precinct in the northern suburbs.

Barwon Health was looking for a location to ease some of the burden on Geelong Hospital. The Norlane pool was nearing end of life and Centenary Hall was not being utilised as it once was.

When elected in 2017, I discovered that Norlane pool was in a far worse state than I had anticipated.

The concept of the Norlane ARC – an Aquatic, Recreation and Cultural precinct – gathered steam.

It would be the pride of the northern suburbs, a beacon of hope, a major investment to demonstrate to that community they were cared for by council and the rest of Geelong.

The first step in the vision was when the council agreed to sell some land to Barwon Health, so they could establish their unique allied and preventative health facility in the precinct.

We also developed an advocacy funding model, which aimed to share the cost of the project between the three levels of government.

I have never been involved in more advocacy meetings with local state and federal members and government ministers.

Every state and federal budget from 2017 onwards we would be hoping for a funding commitment. Each year passed without one.

Qualities I have learnt from being born and raised in the northern suburbs are resilience and persistence. Never give up if you believe in something. I believed in the NACH, but our advocacy was not winning.

The advocacy became more personal. I started to ask the local state and federal members: ‘Why won’t your governments fund this project?’

A breakthrough came in late 2020 when Senator Sarah Henderson suggested to myself and then-mayor Stephanie Asher that the council should reallocate Federal Local Roads and Community Funding of $8.26 million to the project. We accepted that advice and in early 2021 the state government announced $8.5 million, but we were still well short.

In May 2021 I witnessed what is probably the boldest and bravest decision I have seen in a Geelong council. All councillors agreed that the project was too good, deserved to be delivered and they committed to fund the project shortfall.

The rest is history. The northern suburbs of Geelong are now the proud recipient of an incredible community asset that has exceeded our expectations, and a precinct which is a model for urban renewal and partnership between governments to build hope and a future in a community.

Cr Anthony Aitken

Deputy Mayor,

City of Greater Geelong