1800065993 109a Binney Street, VIC 3666 PO Box 177, Euroa VIC 3666 [email protected] www.strathbogie.vic.gov.au Stra~JIJ>ogie Syt(Y'e

Senate Finance and Public Administration Committees PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600

To the Senate Committee,

Re: Government Bodies to Regional Areas.

It gives me great pleasure making a submission to the enquiry on behalf of my Council.

Background:

Strathbogie Shire with a population of approximately 10,000 people spread over nearly 3,300Km is about 150Km northeast of . The main towns of Strathbogie Shire are Euroa (administration headquarters) and (Birthplace of racehorse, Black Caviar). The Shire is serviced by two national freeways, the Hume Freeway and Freeway together with the main rail corridors of Melbourne to and the Melbourne to . In addition to this, Mangalore Airport is situated in the Shire, the airport currently supports China Southern Airways training approximately 120 pilots per month and is a base for firefighting aircraft in the region. Mangalore Airport is also being investigated for potential agri-nomics fly-in fly-out fresh produce. The airport has approximately 280 hectares of land zoned special use zone. The shire also features prominent racing stables, Lindsay Park and Swettenham Horse Studs and is recognised internationally for producing thoroughbred horses of exceptional quality for the nation. The Shire's main employment sector is agriculture and that is why we pride ourselves on 'Food, Wine and Equine'.

The journey of this Council, from being labelled 'unsustainable' to a council that is now highly regarded as being innovative and well respected has been delivered through a comprehensive well planned five year journey.

In 2011, Steve Crawcour became CEO of the Strathbogie Shire Council, located in NE with its headquarters in Euroa. The Council was financially unsustainable with loans of $3M, minimal working capital, a renewal gap of $12M and equivalent full time staff of 177. Council was funding new assets, had no understanding of its service priorities and its service levels and minimal engagement with its community.

Council set about a number of initiatives:

1. Developed a 10 year Long Term Financial Plan and validated that Council was unsustainable;

2. Reviewed their asset condition data, asset valuations, calculated their renewal demand and established realistic Asset Management Plans to close the renewal gap; 3. In mid-2012, Council initiated and developed a shared services entity Gou/burn Valley Regional Collaborative Alliance (GVRCA) with Greater Shepparton and Strathbogie Shire Council.

4. The GVRCA Councils saved $1.96M in recurrent costs and one off savings of $0.19M in the 2014/15 financial year with savings of $2.1 GM in 2015/16.

5. The GVRCA shared services alliance saved the member Councils $4.82M between 2013 and 2016 and has since expanded membership with Moira Shire Council now engaged.

6. Council's WorkCoverhas reduced from $1.3M p.a in 2012/13 to $0.396K in 2014/15 over two years due to improved management of work cover claims and the improvements in management.

7. Council now has $9M invested, funds for day to day management, $1.1 M in loans a $7M renewal gap that will close in 2 years and equivalent full time staff of 105.

Council is now recognised as being sustainable and is improving its capacity to invest in future infrastructure needs to assist manage the growth in the municipality and to improve service levels for it community. However, as a small rural Shire, Strathbogie Shire cannot do it alone, and needs the support of both Federal and State Governments to decentralise their operations into Regional Victoria.

Terms of Reference:

I will now be more specific and address the Terms of Reference questions as applicable to this Council:

Section 8 iii. Economic, environmental and capability of this policy;

The Strathbogie Shire Council supports a Policy to locate Commonwealth department/offices to regions/rural areas, and more specifically to our Shire.

The benefit from such a Policy would be significant to our small rural Shire via direct access to the on-ground enterprises as well as stimulate economic development through jobs growth and housing.

The benefit of this type of Policy change for the Federal Government is both the location and proximity of our location to Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra via road and rail and to other capital cities via air. We are centrally located to Victoria and are very accessible for other government departments. The cost of land and establishment of Government departments such as the AVPMC outside major cities/ regional hubs is far reduced also.

C the application of this policy to the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, including:

Should the policy change for the relocation of this authority we believe that this Shire is best placed to accommodate them, why? • Land cost and development costs are far reduced compared to major cities and regional towns,

• Strathbogie Shire's location to two major freeways and two major rail corridors provides excellent accessibility,

• Shire's proximity to the major capital city of Melbourne,

• Already have a 24 / 7 all-weather airport with the ability to handle up to Boeing 737's is an added bonus,

• 85% of all racing thoroughbreds are raised in this area,

• Over 50% of the main industry in Strathbogie Shire is agriculture,

• Major intensive agriculture activities in the Shire,

• We are part of the Goulburn Valley Region, the nation's 'Foodbowl'

Section C. ii. A. Human and Animal Health

The Strathbogie Shire has vast expanses of productive land close to significant transport facilities including road, rail and airport. With parts of the Shire with permanent water supply and land use zoning, the Shire would proactively support any relocation to this area. There would be no consequence risk to Human and animal health.

Section C. ii. B. productivity and profitability to the agriculture and fisheries sectors.

The Strathbogie Shire's major industry is agriculture, located in the Goulburn Valley 'Foodbowl', our Shire supports both intensive and extensive agricultural operations, from beef cattle, sheep for - both meat and fibre, pork, poultry and goats. The Shire is also known for its viticulture with at least three major export wineries as well as many smaller boutique wineries and horticultural activities, including tomatoes, olives, walnuts, berries as well as many broad acre crops.

In relation to fisheries, the Strathbogie Shire are the waterways managers for Lake Nagambie and work closely with Fisheries Victoria and the water authorities to both monitor the waterway activity and support recreational fishing in balance with the native fish stocks. The longest river in Victoria, the , meanders through our Shire on its way to the Murray River and there are major hatcheries in the region. The Shire is easily accessible to ocean areas by road, rail or aviation.

There would be no consequence risk to the productivity and profitability to the agriculture and fisheries sectors

Section C. ii. D. Chemical Risks

There would be no consequence risk to the chemical industries as none operate in this Shire. Section C. ii. D. Australia's trading reputation.

There is no consequence risk to the trading reputation in fact being located in a Shire like Strathbogie would only enhance the reputation and productivity of the region.

Section D. any other related matters.

This Council believes that moving corporate commonwealth entities to rural areas, as distinct from regional cities, not only ensures the long term sustainability of these Local Governments but also shows commitment from the commonwealth to support all of Australia.

We are a 'Can Do' Council and that's why we have made this compelling albeit short submission to say, yes, we are open for business and make a difference.

We welcome further discussion regarding our submission and would be happy to present a more detailed submission if required. Should you wish to discuss any of the above please do not hesitate to contact me, or our Chief Executive Officer Mr. Steve Crawcour.

Cr Amanda Mcclaren Mayor