The initiative, developed through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), has seen the federal Liberal government enter into partnership with Western Sydney, Townsville and Launceston to improve livability, infrastructure and employment opportunities.

The result has seen $150 million allocated for a rail corridor in Townsville, as well as significant infrastructure expenditure in Western Sydney.

The Liberal government has also committed $130 million campus expansion for the University of Tasmania in Launceston, as well as $7.5 million for a CBD revitalisation.

While no future deals have been announced, Mr Andrews said on Thursday that Ballarat had the potential to warrant major investment.

“Ballarat has a proud history and great future,” he said.

“If a City Deal is good enough for Western Sydney or Townsville, its good enough for Ballarat. This is about jobs, livability and ensuring that Ballarat can reach its full potential.”  

Ballarat is seen as an ideal regional centre to expand on ICT and technology-related jobs, while investment is also required to improve congestion both in the CBD and on major roads to the west.

Committee for Ballarat chair Janet Dore said federal funding for the area is well overdue.

“Next year the Committee will be targeting the federal government for support for infrastructure, emergency services (jobs), alternative energy and finishing the rail (upgrade, planned between Melton and Melbourne),” Ms Dore said.

“We’ve been neglected for a bit too long by the federal government.”

Transport has long been on the Committee for Ballarat’s agenda, with the full duplication of the line between Ballarat and Melbourne a key requirement.

Line duplication, on top of state budget-funded Melton duplication, would allow for a massive improvement to train services for Ballarat commuters.

Ms Dore said an emergency services hub for the city, which is planned but not funded, is also a key priority.

“We need to be clear about which one is the most important and the emergency services hub is absolutely critical,” she said.

The Ballarat West Employment Zone is also a key future project at council level.

The state government is also keen to ensure Commonwealth funding is allocated to upgrade planned fibre-to-the-node (FTTP) NBN to the superior fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) connection.

Ballarat MP Catherine King said she would welcome the opportunity for a Ballarat partnership in a city deal, but said the lack of investment from federal level to date has dampened her expectations.

“Any deal that would see investment and opportunity come to Ballarat sounds like a great idea, and the COAG-City deals are no different. Our city needs more jobs, better infrastructure and more equitable funding for schools,” she said.

“Unfortunately, given that we have not received a single cent of Federal Stronger Regions Funding since the Abbott-Turnbull government came to power, I’m not holding my breath.

“Now that these COAG-City deals have been created, I do think Ballarat is well placed to take advantage of the scheme – with local industry and community groups prepared to make successful applications.”

Western Victoria MP Joshua Morris said continued investment in the Ballarat region is a must, but said the state government must commit to bringing more jobs to the city.

“If Daniel Andrews wants to see Ballarat reach its full potential, his government should start by bringing 600 jobs to our region through the relocation of VicRoads, properly funding a new bus and taxi interchange at the Ballarat Station redevelopment and building a desperately needed government school in Lucas,” he said.

“The Andrews Government has $9.7 billion from the lease of the Port of Melbourne to spend on Victoria’s infrastructure and services. At least $970 million of this must be spent on regional infrastructure thanks to a deal done by the Coalition.”

Federal Assistant Minister for Cities Angus Taylorsaid a competitive process to identify future Regional City Deals was under development, but did not indicate if Ballarat was in consideration for an upcoming deal.

“We plan to develop a stream of City Deals specifically for regional cities to maximise their unique advantages and support long-term growth,” he said.

“We have begun with three very different deals for Townsville, Launceston and Western Sydney and these will inform the way we develop deals in other regional locations.”