Horsham councillors endorsed the submission at its meeting on Monday night. 

Planning and economic director Angela Murphy said, in a report to council, the submission focused on three key issues that council believed were relevant to the inquiry. 

The issues comprised of decentralisation, transport and connectivity infrastructure and education. 

Ms Murphy said, in the submission, that the relocation of federal and state government departments to regional capitals could provide advantages for both capital and regional cities. 

“(It) will help take the service and infrastructure pressure away from major capital cities – in our case Melbourne – which is struggling with increasingly congested road and rail infrastructure; declining housing affordability; rapid growth in outer fringe suburbs; and the loss of valuable agricultural land on the urban fringe,” she said. 

Ms Murphy said when planing for decentralisation it was important to continue connectivity and transportation investments. 

She said better access between regional and state capitals would improve livability and the attractiveness of the region for people to live, work and invest. 

The submission noted campaign to return of passenger rail to Western Victoria. 

“The eight councils … believe the return of passenger rail … is a significant economic driver, a key factor in providing increased employment opportunities and has an important social aspect for our communities to provide access to services in Melbourne and Ballarat,” she said.

It also noted that connectivity was vital. 

The 2016 Census showed that the internet was not accessed from 21.9 per cent of dwellings in Horsham municipality. The figure was far above both the state’s 13.6 per cent and national’s 14.1 per cent levels.

Ms Murphy said knowledge intensive industries become location independent where reliable, affordable internet access is available.

“With equal access location decisions then become lifestyle based and this is increasingly becoming a differentiating factor between growing and stagnating communities and economies,” she said. 

The submission expressed council’s support for a third South Australian interconnector between Horsham and Keith – in South Australia – and through to Adelaide via Nhill.

Ms Murphy said this would help open up the areas either side of border to greater large scale renewable energy investment and create extra redundancy and energy security for South Australia. 

Ms Murphy said access to high quality education at all levels was also essential to attract and retain people in the Wimmera.