The following article was originally published in the Geelong Advertiser: Leaving the Region in the Lurch.
“...The rail network needed to underpin our future mobility is not a ‘Geelong’ project. It is a regional project.
The ‘ask’ for our region is massive. This is Australia’s fastest growing region of the past decade. The next two decades will add an additional 200,000 residents and we’ll be a region of half a million people.
Looking around Australia, only South East Queensland – Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast – is expected to grow more rapidly by comparison.
Our biggest ask – public transport – is costly. We need billions of budget dollars to address the car dependency that threatens the region’s liveability.
And, despite the ‘Geelong Fast Rail’ tagline, the rail network needed to underpin our future mobility is not a ‘Geelong’ project. It is a regional project.
The beneficiaries of major public transport investment – and the rail and bus network upgrades it unlocks – will be the residents of Colac, Bannockburn, Torquay or Winchelsea as much as they’ll be Geelong people. Collectively, as a region, we all need to champion the same result.
“We have a fight on our hands, so let’s stick together.
The G21 Geelong Region Alliance – known as ‘G21’ – is our instrument for regional advocacy to federal and state governments, no matter the politics or economic conditions of the day.
G21 was established 20 years ago to actively push the shared priorities within five local government areas – Colac Otway, Surf Coast, Golden Plains, Queenscliffe and Greater Geelong.
Under the G21 banner, our region has successfully campaigned together for major projects that strengthen our entire community.
Need examples?
The Geelong City Deal is now reshaping Central Geelong and the Great Ocean Road. Redevelopments of the Geelong Arts Centre, Northern Aquatic and Community Hub, Kardinia Park and Queenscliffe Ferry Terminal benefit our entire community.
Last week, after 20 years of shared advocacy, the City of Greater Geelong voted to leave G21. As its largest member, contributing 75% of the shared financial contribution, it’s likely a terminal decision.
City Hall now intends to channel its advocacy efforts through its memberships of Regional Cities Victoria and Regional Capitals Australia. These alliances may provide some small benefits to our region, but they do not replace G21.
Regional Capitals Australia is a Wagga Wagga-based organisation with 19 member cities including Alice Springs, Tamworth, Broome and Dubbo. How much common interest do we have with these cities? How does Geelong benefit from activism delivered from rural New South Wales?
Regional Cities Victoria is an alliance of Victoria’s 10 regional cities, including Wangaratta and Horsham. Geelong certainly shares common ground with Bendigo and Ballarat, but the scale of our future growth is not shared by these cities.
In short, these alliances are filled with our competitors. They do not speak for our region’s interests.
Looking forward, we all share a regional priority at Avalon Airport, and the vision for its connecting railway station. Undoubtedly, Avalon Station would directly benefit Geelong residents and workers. It also would benefit the Surf Coast and Colac Otway, facilitating tourism visitation to the Surf Coast and Great Ocean Road.
It’s a regional project. Our region.
Geelong’s best allies in this fight are not Bendigo, Ballarat, Bunbury or Broome. They are Surf Coast, Golden Plains, Colac Otway and the Borough of Queenscliffe.
Our regional competitors in future are the likes of Newcastle, Adelaide, Hobart and the Gold Coast. We need to lift our collective gaze, and our game.
And that’s without even mentioning Victoria’s Big Build, with Suburban Rail Loop and the rest of Melbourne’s city-shaping projects.
We have a fight on our hands, so let’s stick together.
This article was originally published in the Geelong Advertiser: Leaving the Region in the Lurch.