Petition to fund Northern ARC

Geelong’s
community leaders are calling on residents to provide their support to the
proposed Northern ARC development in Norlane.

Greater Geelong
Mayor Bruce Harwood and G21 Geelong Region Alliance CEO Elaine Carbines head a high-level
consortium strongly advocating for the project.

Eighteen community
leaders have co-signed a letter and launched a public petition that calls on
governments to commit funding to the $61.6 million health and wellbeing
complex.

All residents
are encouraged to add their voice to the united campaign via the petition,
which is available at www.geelongaustralia.com.au/northernarc

The petition reads:

You can
provide the spark that helps deliver the Northern ARC. Show your
support for the health and recreation facility that will change lives and
deliver a fair outcome for the north.

The co-signed letter,
to be published across local media outlets, states that the Northern ARC will
provide residents with a world-class facility that is unlike anything else in
Australia:

Its impact
will be enormous. Once opened, it will be one of the region’s busiest public
facilities, attracting more than 600,000 people annually.

There is no
more time to waste. The people of the north need to see decisive action.

The City is also
using a billboard alongside the Princes Freeway at Lara to promote the Northern
ARC, as part of a co-ordinated advocacy campaign.

It has been
more than 18 months since the City pledged $20.6 million to the vital initiative.

The City has
further allocated $880,000 in its Proposed Budget 2019-20 to deliver detailed
designs of the facility, should supporting capital works funding be secured.

The increased
advocacy comes after Geelong’s senior leaders last month joined forces to call
on federal political parties to commit $20.5 million to the Northern ARC.

The state
government would also be required to allocate $20.5 million to the priority
project.

The public
petition can be viewed and signed online.

It will also be
available at Council Customer Service Centres and Swim Sport and Leisure
centres.

The full list
of co-signatories to the letter is included below:

Greater Geelong Mayor Bruce
Harwood

Leaders from across
Geelong have made it clear how strongly we support the Northern ARC and now
we’re calling on our community to add its voice to the campaign by signing the
petition.

We want to show
the major political parties how important this project is for the people of
Greater Geelong, and convince them to commit funds before the federal election.

This is a
chance for the Geelong community to stand as one and declare that the north
must be given a fair go by our federal politicians.

The Northern
ARC has the potential to change lives in our northern suburbs. As a community
that cares for one another, we want all residents to join the push regardless
of where in our region they live.

G21 Geelong Region Alliance CEO Elaine Carbines

A prosperous regional community should care for the wellbeing of all of its members.

That is why, as a regional community, we must call on politicians to
support the Northern ARC.

Norlane and Corio have double-digit levels of unemployment; higher than
both the state and national averages. They are among the most socially
disadvantaged areas in the nation.

This facility will work to address causes central to disadvantage,
providing long overdue community and health facilities to some of our most
vulnerable communities.

Decisions about funding desperately-needed projects such as the Northern
ARC should be based on the needs of the people; not on whether it will result
in votes.

G21 calls on people across the G21 region to sign the petition demanding
our politicians support and fund the Northern ARC.

It is time for politicians to listen to the community and demonstrate
that the people of Geelong’s disadvantaged northern suburbs matter.