Mobile phone towers are high on the priority.
In the final four days of the federal election campaign Central Highlands Regional Council is making sure its voice is loud and clear about what its region needs.
‘This is crunch time for the candidates,’ said Mayor Kerry Hayes as he launched the council’s Towards 2020 advocacy bid at this week’s general council meeting.
‘It’s these final few days of the campaign when we see exactly what’s on the table for our electorate and this document spells out the priority issues.
‘Our top three are funding for the Central Highlands Meat Processing Plant, the Central Highlands Intermodal Freight Hub and the sealing of the Springsure Tambo Road.
‘They’re the big ticket items, but strong contenders are also flood protection, climate change, the restoration of indexed federal assistance grants and more mobile black spot funding.
‘We’ve heard a lot of the usual rhetoric around supporting regional Australia during the past few weeks and plenty of talk about creating jobs and supporting communities post resource boom, but we’d like to see that translated to signed and sealed promises,’ the mayor said.
‘This council has these big projects ripe and ready to go—jobs for locals are guaranteed and each contributes directly to the prosperity of the agricultural economy—aligning with the policies of both major political parties.
‘While we have all been lobbying quietly and sincerely in past weeks, this document is something we can put in the candidate’s hands today and, no matter who is victorious on Saturday, it will clearly reference what’s important for the Central Highlands and what we will continue to advocate for in the coming three years.’