Across Greater Geelong and the wider region, there are a large number of government, business and community organisations working tirelessly to advocate for infrastructure improvements and policy reforms that benefit our community and power our local economy.
We are stronger and mightier when we work together.
In recognition of this, and of the City of Greater Geelong’s unique responsibility as one of the loudest and most influential voices in the region, at Tuesday’s Council Meeting, we adopted a new Advocacy Framework.
The new framework sets out our strategic blueprint for advancing Greater Geelong and ensuring its sustained positive development at a local, regional, national, and international level over the next three years.
As the fastest growing regional city in Australia, Geelong has a lead role to play in advocating for the collective interests of our broader region.
With high population growth and a surging economy, we need to ensure we continue to improve infrastructure and services.
We need significant investment in public and active transport connections, we need a vibrant central Geelong, and we need more affordable housing.
And we can’t achieve our great ambitions for the region alone.
Our new approach to advocacy gets the balance right by considering what the City does well as an advocacy leader and finding opportunities where we can collaborate with other municipalities and community organisations to get the best possible outcomes.
The framework provides two new approaches for regional advocacy, with the City to renew its membership of G21 with a reduced financial contribution and establish a partnership with the City of Wyndham for joint advocacy.
Founded 22 years ago, G21 continues to be a vital conduit for strengthening government, business, and community relationships across Greater Geelong and its surrounding municipalities.
Our redefined partnership with G21 recognises that collaborative advocacy will deliver better value for all our communities, while also balancing budget constraints affecting all councils.
By strengthening our ties with neighbouring councils and local organisations through this improved and redefined partnership, we are paving the way for collective progress across our wider region, starting with advocacy delegations to Spring Street and Canberra.
Outside of this, our partnership with the City of Wyndham, which is not part of G21, will enable us to join forces with another major Local Government Authority in the important western growth area.
As we embark on this journey of renewed partnership and collaboration, I am full of hope and anticipation.
Together, we can achieve remarkable feats and ensure a vibrant, prosperous future for generations to come.
