LEADER of The Nationals’ party, Matt Canavan, made a trip to Kilmore last Tuesday, discussing infrastructure needs with Federal Member for Nicholls Sam Birrell, Mitchell Shire Council CEO Mary Agostino and Mayor Councillor John Dougall.
The Kilmore Bypass and John Street Link were hot topics of discussion from Council, and Cr Dougall said it was important that their voice had to be heard.
“[It’s great to] hear firsthand what our residents here in Mitchell need, and we’ve been quite clear, it is the John Street Link, to improve the north/south traffic flow in Kilmore, and also the Kilmore Bypass,” he said.
“The Northern Highway is over capacity, and we need a way of connecting the freight and connecting people to and from work in an effective manner.
“We feel confident that our voice is being heard and we can work with the Federal Government and build a community that we can be proud of that retains that character and becomes really liveable.
“Once we get that Bypass, we are going to be a tourism destination – the fringe of Melbourne, we will attract people and it will be the best of both worlds.”
Mr Canavan, in his first visit to the town, said funding needed to go to towns like Kilmore, and would continue to push for planning, saying Mr Birrell had been very keen for Mr Canavan to experience the town.
“We want to see our country grow, we have massive opportunities – this is such a beautiful part of the country, and that’s why a lot of people are moving here,” he said.
“What we need to see is the funding go where the growth is. A lot of it is in the regions. People want space, they want a backyard post-COVID, want fresh air and we want to support that.
“The key lesson I’ve taken away from Council is we need better planning to take the better opportunities this area has.
“Sam has been pushing me to come down. What I can assure people is we never do cut funding to the regions.
“I’m not surprised why so many people are moving here, because it’s such a beautiful city – that heritage and history is a great platform for its future.”
Mr Birrell said it was a great way to celebrate his first year re-elected in the electorate.
“When Matt became leader, what he said that resonated with people is we want more Australia, and we have a lot of resources and opportunities in this country to grow the economy,” he said.
“To be able to build the infrastructure we need, Australia has to have dynamic industries, whether it’s mining, agriculture, manufacturing, we can do all that, but we have to change some of our policy settings.
“It’s been a year since I got elected, and Kilmore became part of the electorate. I’ve had the great honour of representing them.
“I do know this place, going to school as a boarder at Assumption College. Kilmore was a very different place back then.
“It’s got incredible bluestone buildings and history – the oldest inland settlement in Victoria.
“There’s a huge amount of development in terms of housing – which is a good thing, but not if the infrastructure doesn’t keep up.
“What I’ve noticed and what I’ve spoken to people about is they don’t mind a bit of population growth, but they want the infrastructure to keep up, and they also want Kilmore to remain a regional town. They don’t want to be swallowed into a suburb. We can get it all right with good planning and good infrastructure.”
Cr Dougall said it was now an opportunity to get things right with more Federal voices being heard.
“We can’t do it alone, we need partners in terms of industry developers, we need partners at the Federal level and the State level. That’s how we are going to work through the challenges we have,” he said.
“Yes, there’s growth; we want families to be attracted to the area, to seek aspiration, and we want to capitalise on the massive opportunity that comes with growth.
“There’s plenty of areas that don’t have growth and are begging for it. We want to make the point that we have to get it right with the early planning, invest in what the communities need, but most importantly, listen to them.”
