ON Tuesday night, Ballarat mayor Joshua Morris released his first pitch to voters as a candidate for the Liberal Party in the upcoming state election.
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Cr Morris's pitch is reprinted below in full.
I'm honoured to have been chosen as the new Liberal Party candidate for the Upper House seat of Western Victoria.
As a husband and father of four children, I understand the challenges facing families, balancing the household budget and wanting the very best in community in which to raise your children.
As part of Denis Napthine's team I will be working hard to represent the views of the many communities across the Western Victoria Region.
In the lead up to the November election, I will be reminding people that only the Napthine government is delivering for all Victorians, particularly those in rural and regional areas.
Having been elected in 2012 to Ballarat Council, I have had the privilege of working with an incredibly passionate and driven group of councillors. As a group we have achieved great things for the local communities where we live and raise our families.
A short snapshot of our achievements during this time includes:
• Achieving $30 million in funding for the Ballarat West Employment Zone – A project that will ultimately generate up to 9,000 jobs and an additional $5 billion in annual economic activity;
• Securing the move of VicRoads to Ballarat – resulting in the revitalisation of the Civic Hall site and generating an additional 400 jobs;
• Finalising the long term development plan for the Ballarat Railway Station precinct, which will ultimately lead to regeneration of a key precinct within the city;
• Investing $17 million in creating long term aquatic infrastructure including the construction of the new 50 metre pool; and
• Rebuilding seven kindergartens to help Ballarat meet the challenges of growth, with two brand new facilities currently under construction at Midlands and also Miners Rest.
Having been preselected however, I now need to revisit my role as mayor of Ballarat.
It is my intention to step down as mayor.
I have confirmed my decision to step down as mayor in writing with the CEO of the City of Ballarat.
As outlined in a statement by City of Ballarat CEO this afternoon, the election of the new Ballarat mayor will occur on September 12.