Geelong Regional Alliance, or G21, has effectively disbanded, announcing this week the end of its current operating model.
While G21 will retain its brand and continue to advocate for investment and planning in the region, board chair Melissa Stephens announced on Tuesday the organisation will no longer be funded by the five local councils nor retain any staff.
“The G21 board has met to decide future arrangements for the G21 Geelong Region Alliance to maintain its ongoing sustainability as an effective advocacy body for our growing region,” Ms Stephens said.
“G21 has represented an active network of government, business and community organisations for 23 years across the City of Greater Geelong, Surf Coast Shire, Colac Otway Shire, Golden Plains Shire and the Borough of Queenscliffe.
“While the five councils are G21’s major funding source, the organisation has played a unique role as a planning and advocacy body for the region, looking beyond the needs of local government.
“This region-based work has been achieved by working with independent members on the board, a broad membership base, the input of various pillar groups and our communities.”
Through advocacy and support, G21 has been involved in successful projects such as the arrival of the Spirit of Tasmania at GeelongPort, the Great Ocean Road upgrade, the redevelopment of Geelong Arts Centre and central Geelong’s Green Spine.
“Last week the Geelong region was named the most popular destination in Australia for internal migration by the Commonwealth Bank and Regional Australia Institute,” Ms Stephens said.
“This outcome did not happen overnight or by chance, it has been driven by the region’s collaborative effort over many years.”
While G21 still has a sizeable cash reserve, with no staff and no funding it is unclear what it will be able to achieve in the longer term, or what local government bodies will be able to replace its functions.
Ms Stephens said she and the board “strongly” believed G21 still had “an important ongoing role advocating for vital outcomes for our region”, but would need to “operate differently as we go forward due to significant budget constraints affecting all member councils”.
“Careful consideration has been given to a different model of operations to ensure viability,” she said.
