A number of Australian Public Service Agencies along with hundreds of staff members could be relocated from Canberra to regional Australia under a decentralisation plan.
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The news comes after a letter was leaked to rural newspaper, The Weekly Times, from Minister for Agriculture, Barnaby Joyce. In the letter, Mr Joyce said the Government was "committed to boosting jobs growth and strengthening communities across Australia" through relocating its agencies "outside of Canberra".
The plan presents a perfect opportunity for council to meet one of the objectives set out in the Murrumbateman Masterplan, ‘To outline the vision for Murrumbateman as a means of attracting Public and Private investment,’ and provide the opportunity for economic growth in the Yass Valley.
Mayor Rowena Abbey says she has been visiting Government departments and meeting with ministers all week, to sell the Yass Valley as a whole business.
“It wasn’t in reaction to the letter by Barnaby Joyce, we have been talking about it internally for some time, so this is quite a coincidence. Which means that we all must have the same frame of mind,” she said.
Under the plans, the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation would be off to Tasmania, the Grains Research and Development Corporation would be packing its bags for Albury and the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation would be on the road to Wagga Wagga. Mayor Abbey is confident that she can get the Yass Valley on the list of destinations.
“We aren’t very far from Canberra, so in terms of decentralisation, people possibly don’t have to relocate their whole homes. We are looking at opportunities where we can work together with government departments and sell Yass as a prospect, as there is a lot of opportunity here,” she said.
The Tribune spoke to Simon Chamberlain, the Electorate Media liaison for the office of Barnaby Joyce, who said that these places have been selected and paired together because of their affiliation with one another.
“In Wagga and Albury they have universities, so they were suggested, as the departments would provide further services for the communities there,” Mr Chamberlain said.
Mayor Abbey is arguing that Yass has a strong agricultural community with universities close by, and the lifestyle is a strong asset.
“Timing is everything; when we had talks with some of the departments we asked whether they wanted to move to Wagga and Armidale, the answer was no it was too far, a lot of families won’t move.
“What we are putting out is an idea, suggesting that departments may not have to go far at all.”
Visiting ministers and departments from Canberra this week, Abbey has been vigorously waving the Yass flag, hoping to show the Valley as a viable option for the decentralisation.
“We have had discussions about development space and development opportunities. No area has been designated yet, however there are discussions about proposed council land that would be suitable. Our attitude is, give us the opportunity and we can build a building,” Abbey continued.
Yass Valley Councillor David Needham is excited about the opportunity, saying one of his biggest dreams is to come to the end of McIntosh Circuit in Murrumbateman and turn left instead of right.
“One of our assets in the shire is the people capital; there are 25 per cent of our residents that have public service training. That it is an excellent skill set for the area and something that is greatly untapped,” Cr Needham said.
“This is our opportunity to jump up and down and be seen, and that’s exactly what we are doing.”
Mayor Abbey said that she is fully committed to making this proposal a reality, “We are not sitting on our hands and we are not letting the opportunity run past us. We are on the front foot, we are seeing it as a wonderful opportunity, we are lobbying for those various departments directly and the ministers directly.”