Regardless of who enters state office after November 24, a number of road improvements, major infrastructure projects and Ballarat wish list items will come to fruition over the next four years.
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Both parties are parroting the importance of of big builds to support de-centralisation, particularly in our city.
Labor has promised $58.6 million to fix nine trouble spots and intersections in Ballarat if re-elected.
The corner of Docwra Street and the Midland Highway will have a roundabout and upgraded school crossing as part of the package, to improve safety at Magpie Primary School. Premier Daniel Andrews said that there’s always more to be done so children can “get in and out of school as safely as possible”.
Ballarat and surrounding areas are likely to receive a slice of the Liberal-National coalition’s promise of $1 billion fund over ten years, to fix country and regional roads.
But with the six major priority projects listed in the ‘Ballarat: Now and Into The Future’, it’s been hit and miss as far as funding success.
The campaign push is made up of Australian Catholic University, Ballarat Health Services, City of Ballarat, Commerce Ballarat, Committee for Ballarat, Federation University, Sovereign Hill and Visit Ballarat, with a combined 7000 employees in Ballarat.
Labor has promised it will put $10 million towards restoring Her Majesty’s Theatre if elected, double what was asked of them by Ballarat: Now and Into The Future. A restored Her Maj will be Disability Discrimination Act-compliant, with lifts to be installed at the back and front-of-house, better dressing rooms and safety fixes for the stage and broken roof trusses.
In the transport stakes, Warrenheip Station was the city’s major ask, which was costed at $80 million. The Liberals’ transport spokesperson David Davis confirmed to The Courier if elected they would build the station, which will provide alternate parking for Ballarat commuters, as part of $19 billion idea for a high-speed regional rail.
All that has rolled in for the Ballarat Innovation and Research Collaborative for Health (BIRCH) research facility is Labor’s October announcement of $300,300, for preparatory planning work.
BIRCH will be hosted on the Ballarat Health Services’ Drummond Street site, to provide opportunities for medical research in Ballarat and to keep university students in the city during mandatory research projects.
Neither political party has pulled the gun on promising to fund other key projects like the Ballarat Link Road stage two, an $80 million spend to connect the current road from the Western Freeway all the way to the Glenelg Highway.
Similarly, the Aviation Emergency Services Innovation Hub has failed to gain traction. The $50 million ask is to create an emergency rapid response home base at the Ballarat Airport.
Sovereign Hill’s push for a $43 million ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ upgrade is also yet to garner an election promise, despite being one of the Ballarat lobby group’s top six wishlist items. It would see a new entry building and large events space constructed, and new museum exhibits, particularly in the ageing Gold Museum.
