Sometimes, if you hold your breath long enough, or nudge ever-so-slightly, you can bring the future to your doorstep. That happened in Ballarat last week.
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The City of Ballarat decision to proceed with lengthening the Ballarat Airport runway will be seen in time, as the start of something big for this city - a whole new landscape.
There were stumbles along the way, but in the end the unanimous vote enables more than a decade of work to be cemented in word and to get the work started.
Our focus, my focus and that of the airport users is to get the extension of the runway built.
As part of that, the road that currently divides the runway needs to be dealt with. Liberator Drive needs state government money to be connected to the airport gateway, allowing the current airport road that crosses the north-south runway to be removed.
It's been an enormous load of public and private planning that began in 2009 and has included the $40M Link Road development, giant roundabouts for B-Dubs and large businesses like CHS Broadbent, Kane Transport and Agrimac being built and operational.
The reason this vote took special attention is because it has taken years and hundreds of millions of dollars to get to this point which now takes us years into the future. It takes us from the necessary stage one of Link Road, through the gleaming new BWEZ entry gates off Ring Road proudly boasting six aeroplane wings, past new businesses and now ready for the next stage to take off.
The reason this vote took special attention is because it has taken years and hundreds of millions of dollars to get to this point which now takes us years into the future.
- Cr Samantha McIntosh
For most in Ballarat, the airport sits somewhere out west. Locals know it's there and stuff happens there a few little planes come and go, pilots get trained and so on.
In truth I suspect the airports worth - in total - is a mystery to most locals. But for those companies that use the site, it is a beacon of opportunity.
Companies and families have moved to Ballarat because of the airport and it's potential. Extraordinary companies have operated from and existed there for years, going about amazing business.
I talk of companies such as Field Air, Aerovision, Royal Flying Doctor services and even community clubs like Ballarat Aeroclub and the many hundreds of community groups and members using the historic air force huts. With this business and community activity and the significant past and present needs for emergency and medical response supporting our broader region, it seems the airport potential is not yet fully discovered.
The glossy brochures for the Ballarat West Employment Zone (BWEZ), have touted the airport zone as a jobs bonanza and a sanctuary for success, growth, and development.
Central to BWEZ has been the ability to sell its unique capacity for rail, road and air logistics. This is one of the unique standouts our regional airport should further develop.
With this triple-threat, and the magical golden-hour from Melbourne where ships and bigger planes await - other regions have looked rather lovingly at what Ballarat can offer.
Hence BWEZ grew and was shaped and sustained by local, federal and state government's funds.
But the most important funds came from those companies who decided this area was for them. In total, more than $300 million of both private and government money has been spent in this zone.
What Ballarat gets from that is jobs some boutique, some highly scientific, cutting edge, futuristic and with global reach.
Companies like Gekko, WestLab and Luv-a-Duck have invested in Ballarat, because Ballarat invested in them.
The airport runway extension and what is hoped will follow are our gift to the children of our city.
The number of documents produced for the airport and the precinct over many years are piled high. Masterplans, concept plans, drafts, strategic documents, case studies, business cases one could go on. All of these have brought us to this point.
Those who have seen the worth of the airport and BWEZ know that these are not just documents they are runways into our future our bigger place in this state and this nation. They are the pages of our history that will one day be our future.
To those who have believed and supported this plan, thank you. It is not easy to stick your hand up or your neck out.
The work to get us this far has been significant and successful.
The effort to take us even further will be greater but very, very doable.
Cr Samantha McIntosh, chair, Ballarat Airport Advisory Committee 2008-2021
