Committee for Geelong

The Committee for Geelong is a non-political high profile lobby group active in the Australian city of Geelong. Its membership comprises some of Geelong's largest employers in the private and public sectors. It is similar conceptually to the Committee for Melbourne although within Geelong has a much higher profile and arguably more cloutFact|date=November 2007. It was involved in drafting the Geelong Strategic Plan [http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/newmedia.nsf/bc348d5912436a9cca256cfc0082d800/2e4545b58571a4f0ca256de00075c0c2!OpenDocument] which attracted many tens of millions of dollars of state government financial support for projects in Geelong.

The Committee was founded by successful businessman Frank Costa in 2001. It has played a leadership role in a large number of community projects in the city [http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/newmedia.nsf/bc348d5912436a9cca256cfc0082d800/3cad53c4ee4a8adaca256f0700785333!OpenDocument] [http://www.vic.liberal.org.au/mediacentre/StateMedia/03112005painting.htm] .

It sees itself as a thinktank for ideas for the development of the city and also as a network for community leaders in Geelong. It has a full-time executive director and other staff based at the Deakin University waterfront campus. It runs programmes like Leaders for Geelong to develop leadership skills.

Critics say the group is pro-development and object to its support for prominent waterfront and other property development proposals in Geelong which opponents have called inappropriate [http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/how-sleepy-hollow-woke-from-its-slumber/2006/01/27/1138319446880.html] .

External links

* [http://www.melbourne.org.au/fileadmin/user_upload/file_upoad/How_sleepy_hollow_280106.pdf PDF of article about the Committee for Geelong]