The “one community” of Albury and Wodonga councils is bidding to be the next region chosen for the City Deals program, which could be worth millions of dollars in federal funding.
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The Infrastructure Department revealed in Senate Estimates this week that a joint application between Albury and Wodonga was one of 23 received for the next round of the program.
A City Deal would bring local, state and federal governments together to fund and develop selected projects in a partnership.
In a joint statement, Albury mayor Kevin Mack and Wodonga mayor Anna Speedie said this type of partnership was essential to the success of their “two cities one community” initiative.
“We have lobbied and met with several ministers and departments on multiple occasions to inform them of this historic partnership and gain the support needed to take it forward,” they said..
“Together, as the 19th largest city in Australia, we have a strong economy, serve a regional catchment, and have a critical mass that deserves the opportunity to build on our potential and our liveability to attract people, business and investment to our region.
“A regional city deal for Albury-Wodonga would certainly mean significant outcomes for our community and that’s why we expressed our interest to the government in the program.
“We believe strongly in what we can achieve together and we look forward to receiving support and recognition from the Australian Government for this historic partnership.”
The department’s cities executive director Mary Wiley-Smith told Senate Estimates a benefit of the program was to have three tiers of government working together, not against each other.
“We've certainly had representations from lots of regional councils interested in City Deals in their regions,” she said. “We look for willingness and capacity of jurisdictions to collaborate, and the opportunity to unlock economic potential and transform a city.”
Townsville was one of the first cities announced for the program and has a 15-year deal for projects including a new rugby league stadium, plans for a rail link and a water taskforce.
The final decision and announcement on the next locations for City Deals will be made by the federal government, but no timeframe has been set.
