PREMIER Denis Napthine has welcomed Ballarat mayor Joshua Morris as a Liberal Party candidate for an upper house seat in Western Victoria.
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Dr Napthine's statement is reprinted below in full.
I welcome the announcement last night by the Liberal Party that Joshua Morris will be the endorsed Liberal candidate for Western Victoria Region.
Joshua was born and raised in Ballarat and understands the needs of this great city. He completed his tertiary studies at the Australian Catholic University in Ballarat and is committed to building and growing the western region.
Joshua is an outstanding candidate and, if elected to the Victorian Parliament, will bring a wealth of experience to the role. As a father of four young children, as mayor of the City of Ballarat since 2013, and as a result of his time as a teacher at Darley Primary School, Joshua has a strong understanding of the needs of local families and students.
As mayor, Joshua supports the Victorian Coalition Government's election commitment to relocate VicRoads headquarters to Ballarat, which will boost the local economy and create jobs for the city and the region.
He is also a strong advocate for the Ballarat West Employment Zone which will create 9,000 jobs and inject $5 billion into the local economy.
I congratulate Joshua on his candidacy and look forward to working with him in the lead up to the November state election.
Cr Morris is expected to speak to The Courier about his jump to state politics on Tuesday afternoon.
