Liam McNally
As state and federal governments are busily putting together their annual budgets which will be finalised and handed down close to mid-year, Moorabool council is using the opportunity to advocate for key projects.
Moorabool council said it is advocating “strongly” as they have “key priority” projects that can feed into both budgets.
Council chief executive Derek Madden said an indoor pool to complete the Moorabool Aquatic and Recreation Centre is still at the top of the list.
“We continue to advocate strongly to the federal government to contribute their share of the indoor pool, which has already had funding committed from both council and the state government,” he said.
“And with our growing population and recent floods and storms, road infrastructure will also feature very heavily in our advocacy work, ahead of the two budgets.
“We regularly meet with state and federal representatives to put forward our projects, and we encourage the community to contact our local members of parliament to lend your support for projects such as the pool and roads.
“We’re very fortunate to have received funding from other levels of government, especially the state, in the past year or two and we can see that our advocacy work is coming to fruition, with many projects throughout the shire currently under construction or nearing completion.”
Projects in Moorabool recently completed or under construction include the Darley Park Pavilion, an indoor sports centre in Taverner Street, Bacchus Marsh, Ballan and Gordon skate parks, new and updated ovals and netball courts throughout the shire, works at Bacchus Marsh Racecourse Recreation Reserve, and Ballan library and community hub.
Hawke MP Sam Rae said he “strongly supports” the Bacchus Marsh Pool and “will continue to work across all stakeholders to get it built”.
“My local priority for our community has been to kickstart the Western Highway upgrade with the $10 million commitment secured in October’s budget,” he said.
Moorabool council has advocacy videos to highlight the community reasons behind some of their projects which can be viewed on their website, and there are details on how the community can get involved or provide support.
Details: moorabool.vic.gov.au/advocacy
