Persistent and collaborative advocacy by local government will be needed to keep vital infrastructure projects and funding submissions to support growing communities in front of state and Commonwealth governments.
Toowoomba Region Mayor Paul Antonio today (Tuesday, April 4) highlighted the importance of this approach to delegates at the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) Regional Organisation of Councils (ROC) Assembly 2023 in Toowoomba.
In his address titled Passing the Torch, Mayor Antonio drew on the decades-long campaign for the Toowoomba Bypass as a case in point.
"Major projects rely on the alignment of many different elements and competing priorities," Mayor Antonio said.
"While most parties agreed on the long-term benefits of the Toowoomba Bypass, it took decades of lobbying, a petition lodged with the Commonwealth Parliament and the alignment of political will and funding commitments to realise the project.
