REGIONAL communities are tired of all the talking and planning about revitalising their CBDs and what they need is cash.
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So says Warrnambool’s mayor Mike Neoh and there would be few people who would disagree with him.
Warrnambool is one of about 10 regional centres in Victoria that has a CBD in dire need of a facelift.
In fairness to the city council it has kick-started a revitalisation plan aimed at making the city’s heart a better place to visit, to shop, to eat or be entertained.
It has had a real go over the past couple of years and deserves credit for its efforts.
But the council acknowledges that there are plenty of things holding it back from realising its vision of the future, not least the lack of support from state government on both sides of the political spectrum.
Cr Neoh rightly points out that local communities are fed up with the all-talk, no-action approach to regional cities from the state.
Money will be forthcoming for a year, but then council has to go begging the following year for more funding that is never guaranteed.
It is a drawn out, tiresome and counter-productive political cycle that gets us nowhere.
In Warrnambool, council has done the planning, produced the blueprint, sought the community input and come up with a vision — one that has some real potential.
What needs to happen next is it needs a commitment from both Labor and the Coalition that over the next four years it will provide the funding.
Cr Neoh, also chairman of Regional Cities Victoria, reckons $100 million over that time period would get the job done across Victoria.
Traditionally the poor cousins, regional Australians deserve better.
If we can attract investment, not just for our CBD, but for better rail and road, our university campuses and our agriculture and export markets, we have a great deal to offer Victoria.
It is high time state politicians listened to regional communities, realised their potential and invested in their future.