Warrnambool City Council, along with nine of Victoria's largest regional cities, has signed up to extend an involvement in advocacy group, Regional Cities Victoria.
The alliance, comprising the local governments of Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Horsham, Latrobe, Mildura, Shepparton, Wangaratta, Warrnambool and Wodonga, will continue to work with the Australian and Victorian governments to address housing shortages, attract new industries to regional Victoria, and ensure services and infrastructure keep pace with the extraordinary population growth across Victoria's major regional centres.
Collectively, these cities are home to more than 800,000 people and contribute approximately 10 per cent of Victoria's economy.
Warrnambool Mayor Cr Ben Blain was in Parliament today to sign the Memorandum of Understanding along with other regional city mayors.
"Collectively the regional Victorian cities have significant bargaining power and are critical to the liveability and economy of Victoria," Cr Blain said.
"We're in an environment where the regions need to advocate very strongly to ensure we receive the funding we need to thrive.
"The MoU commits us to working together to achieve outcomes that will benefit all regional Victorians and those who are considering a seachange or a treechange from the ever-expanding metropolitan area."
The MoU sealed an agreement to continue collective advocacy efforts and take the leadership group into its 25th year as a trusted advisor to governments and other stakeholders on important issues.
RCV advocacy has seen an historic $600m boost to broadband and 5G mobile infrastructure across regional Victoria; first ever Commonwealth contributions to essential utilities, to unlock new housing and make homes more affordable; investment in regional tourism and events; and the attraction of new businesses and jobs to regional cities.
Ahead of next year's Federal election and a State election in 2026, Regional Cities Victoria wants to ensure regional Victoria gets it fair share.
