By Deanne Jeffers
VICTORIA’S 10 largest regional cities met in Shepparton recently to discuss investment, population growth, climate change and the transition to net zero emissions. The Regional Cities Victoria (RCV) alliance, which includes Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Horsham, Latrobe, Mildura, Shepparton, Wangaratta, Warrnambool, and Wodonga, aims to address housing shortages, make regional cities a better place to live and attract new industries.
Shane Sali, chair of RCV and mayor of Greater Shepparton, emphasised the importance of in-person meetings. “These meetings are really important to expand on all the things we have within our advocacy document… we’re also very happy to be able to have here in person Minister Melissa Horne, who the Local Government Minister and also the Minister for Roads and Rail,” Mr Sali said.
“She did acknowledge that the road infrastructure is really challenged at the moment,” he said. “We talked about the importance of having the best possible road infrastructure in place to ensure that the safest possible roads are there for our users.”
“Regional cities represent over 800,000 people, we know a lot of people want to move and relocate to regional Victoria. So, there’s many factors on how we can support that, and the support that we need, not only from Minister Horne, but the state and federal governments, to ensure that not everything is metro-focussed.
“We need to make sure that regional Victoria is front of mind when investment and money is put on the table, to ensure that a portion of that goes to regional Victoria.”
He highlighted the need for government investment in infrastructure to unlock land for housing development, addressing the housing shortage. He also pointed out the importance of local governance and strategies to prevent councils from going into administration.
“There are a number of councils that are in administration,” Mr Sali said. “Whether it be for any number of matters – cultural, financial, or otherwise.” He said appropriate training and support for people that put their hand up for council was an important factor.
The meeting was also an opportunity to showcase development in Shepparton. Sali said, “I think the most exciting part about it is that a lot of them are going through some discussions and transitions with their CBD. So, we’re able to show them what we achieved with the redevelopment of the Maude Street Mall. And then we went out to the Museum of Vehicle Evolution, and they were really impressed.”
