Advocacy that delivers for Ararat
Few announcements have given me greater satisfaction than the recent confirmation that Ararat will receive a headspace outreach service.
This has been one of my longest-running priorities for our community. For years I have worked alongside East Grampians Health Service, Grampians Community Health, Ararat Rural City Council and many passionate local advocates to make the case that young people in Ararat deserve the same access to mental health support as those living in other regional centres.
That persistence has now paid off.
Every conversation with local families, teachers, health professionals and community leaders reinforced the same message: young people in Ararat should not have to leave their own community to access the mental health support they need.
This announcement is recognition that our community’s voice has at last been heard.
While this is a milestone worth celebrating, I also see it as the foundation for the future. We followed this pathway in other regional towns where an outreach service ultimately grew into a permanent headspace centre. I want to see Ararat follow the same path and I will continue advocating until it has its own permanent headspace centre.
Another issue that remains front of mind for many local families and small businesses is the duplication of the Western Highway between Buangor and Ararat.
While I welcomed the additional funding committed by the Allan and Albanese Labor Governments in their respective 2026–27 State and Federal Budgets to progress section 2B of the project, funding has never been the obstacle. The issue is one of delivery.
The former Coalition Government committed funding in 2019 to complete the duplication between Ballarat and Stawell, yet more than seven years later work on section 2B has still not commenced.
It is little wonder then that people are sceptical that this announcement comes just months before the Victorian State election, particularly when the electorate of Ripon, through which section 2B of the highway runs, is expected to be one of the state’s most closely contested seats.
That scepticism is only heightened by the fact that both the Allan and Albanese Governments have acknowledged that key approvals and planning work are still outstanding.
If the project is not yet ready to commence, people are entitled to ask whether this is a genuine commitment to get the job done or simply another pre-election stunt. Communities across western Victoria want certainty, not political spin.
If this project is genuinely ready to proceed, then Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King should clearly state when construction will begin.
The headspace outcome proves that when a community speaks with one voice and refuses to give up, real results can be achieved. I’m committed to continuing to speak up for the Western Highway until the people of western Victoria see shovels in the ground and this long-promised safety upgrade finally becomes a reality.
ENDS
Contact: Sandie Gustus M | 0408 564 232 E | sandie.gustus@aph.gov.au
Published in the Ararat Advocate