Moyne Shire Council announces funding priorities ahead of Victorian state election

Cr Smith said Moyne Shire representatives had met with state and federal MPs, as well as the candidates for South West Coast, over the past two months in order to hammer home council's state funding shortlist.

The council's other priority projects were its $5m key worker housing program, $10m in arterial road upgrades, the $200,000 Koroit Hospital master plan, and the $6m Port of Port Fairy master plan.

"We've made it very clear that these are our major priorities and the priorities of our community ahead of the state election," Cr Smith said.

"Koroit Township renewal is our main priority - it's a fully costed and scoped project and is ready to start as soon as funding is achieved. Koroit is booming and we want to make sure it has a streetscape that is modern and fresh."

Cr Smith said the council had set aside $1m for the first stage of the project, which had "strong support from the community".

Key worker housing is a critical issue in Moyne Shire, where some local workers were forced to live in neighbouring municipalities because of critically low housing vacancies.

Cr Smith said the council had taken the lead in a regional housing strategy that has produced a detailed report with a range of proposed projects to tackle the crisis. He said it was up to the state government to help fund a solution.

"Moyne would welcome funding for projects across the region," he said.

The under-resourced road network was a top priority as always, with local rate-payers putting it at the top of their wish list. The state government manages arterial roads and highways in the shire, while the council manages local roads.

"Council has made significant investments in the roads under our control in this year's budget, with $10 million being spent on road and bridge upgrades - we are asking the state government to do their bit and make improvements to the roads they manage," Cr Smith said.

The mayor said he thought the council's list of projects was reasonable and reflected the most urgent needs of the community. "We are continually advocating for our key priorities, right across the year, not just at election time and it pays dividends for our community," he said.