In a presentation to the G21 Board in late January, the new Regional Director - Barwon South West for Regional Development Victoria, Andrew Wear, discussed his key role in the establishment of the Barwon South West Regional Development Australia committee.

Andrew explained that fifty-five RDAs have been established across Australia by the Federal Government. These RDAs will be run as independent (non-political) organisations. There will be nine RDA committees in Victoria, generally aligned with Victorian Government administrative boundaries. Four committees will be located in Melbourne and five will be located in provincial Victoria covering the regions of Loddon Mallee, Barwon South West, Grampians, Hume and Gippsland. Regional Development Victoria has been appointed to provide executive support to the RDA Committees in Victoria.

Our region's RDA includes two sub-regions: the Great South Coast (GSC) region and the G21 Region. Click here to see a map of the Victorian RDA areas. In response to G21 Director queries about border alignments between RDA and G21, Andrew Wear said that RDA knows it must work with existing structures, building relationships and collaborative intent. He told the G21 Board that his focus will be on:

• continuing to support the State Government's regional planning process (RSPI), using the G21 Geelong Region Plan as a benchmark for the RDA region; and
• supporting the establishment and implementation of the RDA by ensuring it has a clear mandate that complements the work of G21 and provides improved access to the Commonwealth government.

The Barwon South West Regional Development Australia committee met early in December in Warrnambool to discuss its priorities and processes. Business plans to June 30, 2010 and June 30, 2011 are currently being prepared by Andrew Wear. RDA Deputy co-chair, Peter Dorling, told the G21 Board that the RDA will be a demonstration of cooperative federalism, providing an avenue for ideas and issues to feed up from the region, through the RDA, directly to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). RDA Committee member and G21 Director, Michael Malouf added that the RDA is an advisory committee, not a legal entity and must work collaboratively to realise its potential value to all stakeholders.

G21's extensive experience and outcomes in regional planning have been acknowledged by the State and Federal Government, who cite the G21 Geelong Region Plan and the G21 collaboration model as examples for others to follow in establishing regional plans that represent the position of the region.