There are less than three weeks to go in an extra-long election campaign and already larger numbers of the population are flocking to pre-polling. Whether this is simply to have the whole ordeal out of the way or some other reason, as many as a third of voters are predicted to have made up their minds and want to vote early.
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So far with a month elapsed there has been precious little in concrete promises specifically for Ballarat and The Courier believes the time is right to refocus on just what this election could mean for our future. To this end we want to draw some local relevance from grand nationwide declarations and frame them in more concrete impacts which could affect our city. To help with this focus, and the belief that not being a marginal seat shouldn’t disqualify Ballarat from attention and largesse, The Courier has published a list of projects and services where it would like to see Federal commitment.
While each of the items on the list is a priority, the ten were intentionally left un-ranked; knowing that the perspective of individuals involved will invariably dictate an order. Nor is the list exhaustive.
Some projects have their roots in council ideas, like the BWEZ waste to energy proposal; just waiting for the investment to make regional first technology a step closer to reality. Other projects like the emergency services hub, have the dual attractions of injecting significant economic and employment opportunity and further cementing Ballarat as a major service centre.
Some have already won State Government support and extra support could take these Ballarat to that transformational level of servicing the whole region. The Sports and Entertainment Centre in Wendouree is one such example; not only boosting Ballarat with a show court to match other regional cities but boosting the centre at the all-important grassroots level; producing potential generations of health and social benefit. Other wishlist priorities like mental health and a national redress scheme for sexual abuse survivors are service areas which may have less political appeal but are no less important for the future of a cohesive and healthy Ballarat.
This campaign is long but that is all the more reason, in the lower house at least, to think about what local representation will look like. Choosing to support leadership on key projects and services like these makes every voter a contributor to Ballarat’s future.