Council & Business
18 September, 2023
Local councils band together to boost advocacy on key issues
An alliance of local councils — including the Central Goldfields, Pyrenees and Hepburn — was officially launched recently, bringing the local governments together to tackle shared issues. The Greater Ballarat Alliance of Councils (GBAC) aims to...
An alliance of local councils — including the Central Goldfields, Pyrenees and Hepburn — was officially launched recently, bringing the local governments together to tackle shared issues.
The Greater Ballarat Alliance of Councils (GBAC) aims to foster collaboration among six local councils to achieve a brighter future and address common issues such as enhanced public and private transport, enabling growth, and improving digital connectivity.
Alongside the three local councils, the alliance is made up of representatives from the City of Ballarat, Golden Plains Shire Council and Moorabool Shire Council.
Central Goldfields Shire CEO Lucy Roffey said working together will allow local councils to advocate more effectively for their communities.
“We’ve been working with a number of these councils as part of a previous group — Central Highlands Councils Victoria — but this is more focused on councils that really touch the border of Ballarat, and we’ll be focusing on advocacy to government for projects that impact all of us,” she said.
“It’s really about a united voice, and we know if you’ve got more than one person singing from the same song sheet, it really helps gets your voice heard which is the point of this group.”
Ms Roffey said transport, digital coverage and access, and growth are three key areas for the Central Goldfields.
“Transport is a key issue. We’ve been advocating for quite some time for more rail services between Maryborough and Ballarat, and that makes sense to some of our partner councils such as Hepburn and Ballarat,” she said.
“Integrated transport around Ballarat is really important to our community because we’ve got a lot of people who go to Ballarat to access services and education, so it’s helpful to have a shared vision for that type of work and advocate collectively.
“For digital connection, we know there’s a lot of projects at the moment being rolled out for new mobile and NBN connections, and we want to make sure the region benefits from that.
“The other key pillar for us is enabling growth. In our own council plan we talk about the growth corridor between Maryborough down to Ballarat, so we want to make sure we can unlock those opportunities. We hear every day about housing pressures, so the collective group will be advocating to government for a share of the $1 billion that’s recently been announced for more housing, look at planning reforms, and updating our growth strategies.”
Pyrenees Shire Council mayor Ron Eason also attended the launch and said it will strengthen communities.
“Pyrenees Shire Council is excited to be part of the Greater Ballarat Alliance of Councils,” he said.
“Working together on important regional issues will ensure strong representation and deliver better results for our community.”