AFTER more than 12 months of political promises through an election race that benefited Ballarat more than most of the state, the day has finally arrived when the city will see if the Labor Party will deliver on those commitments.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The new government promised big in the city and in turn the local MPs were returned to Parliament.
But now is the time for them to prove that residents made the right decision.
Most expect Tuesday’s state budget to contain no big surprises, with the focus being on meeting a long list of election commitments.
The City of Ballarat, along with a number of groups throughout the city, will be making sure the government sticks to that list as they scour the budget news.
Mayor John Philips said the council had worked “extremely hard” during the election campaign to provide as much information as possible to political parties to ensure it the best chances for receiving funding.
“It certainly is an extremely important day when we find out what’s in the budget,” he said. “We want to get as many projects under way as quickly as possible.”
A poll of almost 100 people on thecourier.com.au found the biggest priority for readers was a planned revamp of the Ballarat Railway Precinct.
Interestingly, the much-hyped Eureka Stadium proposal received only 7 per cent of the vote.
A cardiac laboratory at the hospital and a late-night bus service to Melbourne was considered more important than the stadium proposal.
The Courier will be travelling to budget lock-up on Tuesday and will report on the major announcements for the city from about 2pm at thecourier.com.au
matthew.dixon@fairfaxmedia.com.au
