Regional Capitals Australia (RCA) today announces Cr Samantha McIntosh, Mayor of the City of Ballarat as new Chair of the national alliance. Cr McIntosh was elected to the position at the 2018 Annual General Meeting.
Cr McIntosh joins the Board with a wealth of experience gained through her position as Mayor of the City of Ballarat and previous roles in hospitality, tourism and health support services.
In this edition of the RCA Newsletter, we are featuring the Federal Member for Whitlam, Mr Stephen Jones MP, the Shadow Minister for Regional Services, Territories, Local Government and Regional Communications.
Prior to entering politics Jones held a number of roles, including roles as a community worker, a lawyer with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and also as the Secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU).
After beginning his career working in local council in New South Wales, City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder CEO John Walker turned to the private sector. John also worked in the private sector at Westpac and Thrifty Car Rental along with a role at West Coast Eagles before deciding to head back to local government in regional Western Australia.
Regional Capitals Australia (RCA) today welcomes the strong call to grow Australia’s regional cities by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities in their Building Up & Moving Out report.
Deputy Chair of RCA, Cr Col Murray said that the report was a clear confirmation of the importance of regional capital cities and their role in a growing Australia.
Regional Capitals Australia offers its congratulations to the Hon Scott Morrison MP on becoming Australia’s new Prime Minister and thanks outgoing Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Regional Capitals Australia Chair, Mayor Shane Van Styn, offered his congratulations to Mr Morrison on his new appointment.
The Select Committee on Regional Development and Decentralisation‘s final report, Regions at the Ready: Investing in Australia’s Future was handed down on the 28th of June this year.
The Select Committee, which was Chaired by the Nationals’ MP Damien Drum included representatives from all sides of politics, including Shadow Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government Mr Stephen Jones and the independent member for Indi, Ms Cathy McGowan AO. The Committee was tasked with reporting on the best practice approaches for the decentralisation of Commonwealth entities, regional development and corporate decentralisation.
After filling various CEO roles over the years working for some of the large private sector companies and Corporations in Australia, Craig Doyle decided to come home to Mackay to take on a CEO role of a different kind when he joined Mackay Regional Council. It is clear that Craig is passionate about improving the liveability of Mackay and ensuring that regional cities are heard and represented in national policy.
After completing her Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne it was clear that the environment was going to be at the heart of Janet Rice’s career. Senator Rice’s first role was as an environmental campaigner for the Conservation Council of Victoria and the East Gippsland Coalition, working for the Department of Water Resources and Bicycle Victoria. Senator Rice was also Mayor for the City of Maribyrnong in Melbourne from 2005-2006 before taking the leap into federal parliament.
After a successful term as alderman of Mackay City Council in the 1980s and overseeing the amalgamation of the city and shire councils, Mayor of Mackay Regional Council Cr Greg Williamson left to pursue a career in corporate business. This time serving on boards provided a wealth of skills and experience that Cr Williamson was able to use for the benefit of Mackay since returning to council in 2016.
Regional Capitals Australia welcomed the initiatives within the Federal Budget 2018.
The following is a summary of 2018/19 key budget investment areas.
The new initiatives included in the 2018/19 Budget were: