A NEW national report supports the growth of Horsham as a regional capital city.
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The Regional Capitals Australia’s report – Building Up and Moving Out – has made an inquiry into the federal government’s role in the development of cities.
There were 37 recommendations made – two of which encourage the growth of regional capitals including Horsham.
The recommendations included a 50-year national settlement plan, which will be used to prepare regional plans. A regional plan aims to grow regional capitals as service centres, improve connections, explore decentralisation and invest in the local government’s role to lead infrastructure development.
Regional Capitals Australia deputy chair Col Murray said the Australian population is over 25 million, which created a debate about the speed of the country’s growth. He said people have realised that not everyone needs to live in the state capitals.
“There are real opportunities for a city like Horsham. The medium house prices – that alone provides a wonderful opportunity against existing house prices in Sydney and Melbourne,” he said. “It’s established in this report that an investment of a university or major health facility in a place like Horsham will bring a strong benefit to the surrounding towns.”
Wimmera Development Association executive director Ralph Kenyon is an advocate for decentralisation.
He said the recommendations would pushed Horsham to become a significant regional capital, which the association supports.
Mr Kenyon said the discussion was important to have at both tiers of government.
“It is good that the commonwealth are exploring the whole concept of decentralisation,” he said. “We do, however, need a strategic plan so the approach is planned and infrastructure and funding to support that shift is available.”
He made note of underutilised infrastructure that would support decentralisation when used effectively.
“We have significant infrastructure in the region including Federation University and so on that could be used more effectively,” he said. “These underutilised assets across the region would help support decentralisation in some way.”
Mr Kenyon has also supported the return of passenger rail. He said fast rail would make Horsham more accessible for people from Ballarat and Melbourne.
“We have a lot of people servicing this region who come from Ballarat, but every time someone comes, they lose potentially half a day of travel,” he said. “Passenger rail helps overcome that because people can be on their WiFi and doing work.”
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