Housing and the pandemic recovery will be the key focus areas for Ballarat's leaders in this year's federal budget.
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Given the immense disruptions in the past 12 months, many businesses and organisations have had to reset expectations - while some projects and initiatives were stopped by the pandemic altogether, the stimulus rush for "shovel ready" projects, particularly in infrastructure, has brought forward some priorities.
In Ballarat, council will have a shorter wish-list for major projects than in previous years.
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Mayor Daniel Moloney said he hoped there would be funding announced for road upgrades, particularly the Dyson Drive duplication that will continue the Ballarat Link Road, and additional support for the Bakery Hill Urban Renewal Project.
"We've deliberately kept (our wish-list) very precise and clear about what we're after, instead of a big shopping list like we've done in the past, and trying to make it as evidence-based as possible," he said.
"Bakery Hill, specifically, is an area that does need to be reinvigorated, it needs stimulus which will have flow-on effects for a retail precinct that's struggling.
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"With the Link Road, it's really a major infrastructure project that's purely and simply about managing Ballarat's growth."
In previous years, council has called for about $11 million for Dyson Drive.
More broadly, there needs to be targeted funding for affordable housing measures, and particularly in the regions, according to the Committee for Ballarat's chief executive Michael Poulton.
Already, Ballarat is feeling the pressure, and there are fears lower-income workers could be priced out of living in the city, creating more issues in the long-term.
With the opening of the Ballarat GovHub last month, and more people choosing to leave Melbourne to live in Ballarat while they can work remotely, the problem could worsen, he said.
"Housing is probably the most critical enabler of regionalisation," he said.
"Addressing the housing need for regional Australia at a federal government level is a priority - people need to live somewhere, and we can't fill jobs and growth in part because housing is such a concern."
Providing support for business planning is another area where Mr Poulton thinks the federal government could make a positive impact.
"One of the things that we'd pushing for, and you see it very much in the visitor economy, is the capacity for money to be freed up so businesses put their master plan in process, do their business cases, the work that needs to be done to be shovel-ready," he said.
"I understand in the early part of the recovery, shovel-ready stuff that starts now is crucial, but I think we have time now to take a breath and say if we're going to build our regions, we need to give our businesses a chance to plan properly, long-term and detailed plans.
"The focus on building has meant costs have gone up - builders are very busy, so we want to take this pause and put money into planning and preparation for building as opposed to everything having to be shovel ready.
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"Sovereign HIll is a great example for our region, the capacity for Sovereign Hill to be putting money into the planning and preparation for stage two and three of their master plan is really crucial, such that in two years time, three years time, you are shovel-ready with the plans in place to apply for the money for the next stage.
"The urgency to get stuff done has been really important, the government has to be commended for the capacity to put money in quickly into the economy to stimulate jobs and growth, we now need to take a pause to look at the longer view."
The 2021-22 federal budget will be announced on Tuesday, May 11.
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