OPPOSITION leader Daniel Andrews will stake his party’s claim for the broader Ballarat electorate today by confirming a $30 million investment in the Ballarat Sports and Entertainment precinct.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The precinct project has been long lobbied and sought after for our city and today’s announcement will be welcomed not only within the sporting community but by residents advocating for investment in big-picture infrastructure across the city.
There is also a sense of lament regarding today’s promise.
It was in 2010, just days before the state election that the then-Labor government promised a similar amount to redevelop Eureka Stadium with an aim to attract AFL games.
The promise was seen as pivotal to Labor maintaining its hold – only just – on the seats of Ballarat West and East, but came to nothing as the Coalition won the statewide poll by the smallest of margins.
The current day Labor announcement is broader than that of 2010, befitting that the Ballarat Sports and Entertainment precinct is about more than just AFL.
It is about creating an indoor and outdoor space for grassroots and elite sports.
It’s about transforming a large expanse of land into an energetic hub of regional importance and standing.
It’s about coming good on Ballarat’s status as the capital of Western Victoria.
The failing of 2010 was that only one side of politics was prepared to commit to the project.
Renewed plans supported by the City of Ballarat and Committee for Ballarat for the precinct make the project, in this newspaper’s belief, an absolute must for bipartisan support.
Premier Denis Napthine last week announced the relocation of VicRoads to Ballarat, with an office proposed for the Civic Hall site to house about 400 workers, and we await with interest to see how Labor’s policy will stack up on this front.
These are exactly the announcements which are needed to provoke a conversation about a positive future for Ballarat and, on the early evidence, that message is getting through.