Former Transport Accident Commission chief executive Janet Dore concedes that her organisation was less than pleased by the news they would be shifting from Melbourne to Geelong back in 2006.
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The-then Bracks Labor government made the announcement with the promise of delivering 850 new jobs to the waterside city, as well as an economic boost of $59 million per annum.
Now the chairman of Committee for Ballarat, Ms Dore said while Geelong and the state were both winners in the long-term, valuable lessens were learned from the mammoth relocation.
“We lost a lot of people but we recruited a whole new workforce in a temporary office and that started to generate a new culture,” Ms Dore said of the transition, which took over three years.
“One of the things we learned was allowing time for people to make the decisions and getting to see the area, because people are pleasantly surprised by Bendigo, Ballarat and Geelong, once the advantages are pointed out to them.”
Similar examples to the TAC such as WorkSafe (2016) and the National Disability Insurance Scheme offices have since continued to shift an hour down the highway.
John Brumby was at the head of Victoria’s regional shift in the mid to late 2000s, first as state Treasurer and then Premier.
As well as overseeing the TAC move, the former federal Bendigo MP was also present during the partial shift of the State Trustees to Bendigo as well as the State Revenue office’s move to Tech Park in Mount Helen.
Mr Brumby said while moving entire state departments may prove difficult, there was no reason why regional Victoria could not successfully house government agencies.
He also said given the inevitable loss of at least 50 per cent of the existing workforce, it was crucial the city was capable of filling an agency’s specialised positions.
“In any move step one is to identify if there are agencies in Melbourne that could be located elsewhere, and then you've got to examine what cost implications are, and you need to be sure the skills you need are available in the regional centre because there may be some cases where on the skills side you will say no.
“During the State Revenue office move when I was treasurer, we had 500 people in Melbourne in expensive office accommodation and we moved it to Ballarat and it’s been a great success,” Mr Brumby said.
The concept itself of decentralisation is far from a new one. From 1964 to 1972 there was a Commonwealth/State Officials' Committee on Decentralisation, while it was Gough Whitlam’s national growth centre policy which led to shifts like the tax office to Albury-Wodonga.
Indi MP Cathy McGowan, whose electorate takes in Albury-Wodonga, was a notable critic of Regional Development Minister Fiona Nash’s calls for all federal departments to justify their place in Canberra last week.
While a big supporter of the successes of her local example, Ms McGowan said it was crucial a move wasn’t forced on public servants and any moves were properly planned.
“It needs government support and investment and that requires bi-partisan support, because you don't want to get all set up and then have a change of government who then pull things out.”
Ballarat’s public sector push
With less than one week left until state Treasurer Tim Pallas releases the 2017/18 budget, the City of Ballarat is ramping up its calls for the relocation of public sector jobs to Ballarat.
Regional Development Minister Jaala Pulford said a Ballarat public sector jobs announcement would be “weeks” away at the beginning of March, however the government has since been silent on the issue.
The call comes a week after the Productivity Commission questioned the role decentralisation could play in promoting strong economic growth in regional Australia.
The recent decision by Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce to shift the federal Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority from Canberra to Armidale was also derided as as move which would have little economic benefit.
City of Ballarat chief executive Justine Linley said the Productivity Commission had taken an “economic rationalist” approach to assessing the Armidale move and decentralisation more widely and didn’t consider the wider community benefits of a departmental shift.
“It’s about marketing and about being really clear about what the benefits are about being in Ballarat, the lifestyle, career advancement, and interactions we can provide as a city,” Ms Linley said.
“Previous discussion about decentralisation, particularly of public sector jobs, proves it’s a perennial discussion and that goes right back to federation, and Canberra itself was the first significant decentralisation of public servants and that proves that it does work.”
While council has long been lobbying both state and federal governments for an allocation of public sector jobs, the wanted figure was recently increased to 1000 in an effort to activate the CBD. Currently 2347 people work in public administration and safety throughout the City of Ballarat, however that also includes council workers.
As well as the Productivity Commission’s scepticism, the highly regarded Grattan Institute has also questioned the viability of decentralisation as a means of creating regional growth.
City of Ballarat deputy mayor Mark Harris said while it was inevitable departments would experience some short term pain in terms of staff losses and up front costs, the addition of quality white collar employment opportunities would benefit many industries throughout the city including hospitality, retail and education.
“(With modern connectivity) why would you associate the public service with being entirely in one place, when it should be active throughout the general population,” Cr Harris said. “In reality it is short term pain, but the fact is we have to at some stage break the mould.”
Coalition keeps VicRoads commitment
The state opposition has reiterated its pledge to shift the mammoth VicRoads should they be returned to office in 2018, with Western Victorian MP Josh Morris saying the department remained the best fit for Ballarat.
The former Coalition government led by Dennis Napthine made the commitment to shift the department from Kew to the Civic Hall site back in 2014, however the move never occurred after the-then government’s election loss in the same year.
The move would have seen as many as 600 public servant positions established in Ballarat. In 2014 the Department of Treasury and Finance released a report saying the overall cost of the move would likely exceed $39 million.
Mr Morris said the opposition still believed VicRoads should be shifted and said the profits raised from selling the current Kew site would offset the up front costs of moving the service.
“When you look at what Ballarat’s got to offer there’s a huge amount, but we’re lacking employment opportunities and diversity,” Mr Morris said. “The relocation of a government department would really revitalise the CBD, it’s not just the 600 jobs directly connected, it’s the flow on effect.”
While the current Labor government has never said which government department or agency it would like to see shifted, it has not ruled out choosing VicRoads.
In February 2016 the government called on VicRoads to conduct its own assessment of the viability of the move, and while the report has been submitted to Treasurer Tim Pallas, it is yet to be released.
Mr Pallas has previously expressed concern over whether the organisation would be able to maintain skills, particularly in engineering.