National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA)
INFLUENCING FEDERAL POLICY WITH NGAA
Challenge
The National Growth Areas Alliance faced a significant challenge: advocating for the needs of 5.2 million Australians living in rapidly growing outer-metropolitan areas.
Governed by 29 local councils, these communities suffer from chronic underfunding, impacting their access to essential services like healthcare, education, and transportation.
NGAA needed to speak to ministers and policy makers; growth areas local councillors and community members, and the general voting public, in order to strengthen bipartisan support and secure government commitment to infrastructure funding.
Our supporting communications needed to raise awareness of the political importance of growth areas and communicate the potential impact of a growth areas funding model .
Solution
To inform the campaign, NGAA and ImpactInstitute conducted extensive research, leveraging LGA-level data, along with media, consumer and stakeholder insights. We found:
- Growth areas included 14 marginal electorates, including Peter Dutton MP
- Community members, general public concerned about cost of living, housing crisis, infrastructure deficits
- Ministers, councillors concerned with meeting potential of these growth areas, highlighting these vibrant communities
- Occupying all stakeholder groups were challenges of accessing education, healthcare and infrastructure
The campaign aimed to create a national platform highlighting the importance of a growth areas housing infrastructure funding model. This involved a multi-pronged media relations strategy, leveraging NGAA’s research, spokespeople, and case studies to drive national media narratives and sway public opinion.
Our research insights aligned 29 disparate LGAs with common stakeholder themes; and our clear, strong messaging via the Beliefonomics™ framework disrupted the narrative of ‘lack’ in growth areas and supplanted it with vibrant opportunities to support growth.
Outcome
- NGAA cited the campaign as helping the organisation gain meetings with seven federal and opposition ministers
- 900+ items of coverage with potential reach of 74m
- Coverage highlights include Sky News, Channel 7News, and ABC News Radio, Sydney Morning Herald, The Herald Sun
- Campaign messaging reflected in the Opposition’s Let’s Get Australia Back on Track policy statement, and the Government’s Housing Support Program announcements
- NGAA member councils empowered to advocate for communities using campaign messaging and media coverage
