New Director appointed at the City of Ballarat

The following statement is attributable to City of Ballart CEO, Evan King:

I am pleased to advise that Martin Darcy has been appointed to the newly created role of Director Economy, Experience and Commonwealth Games and will commence at the City of Ballarat on 7 June 2023.  

Martin brings over 25 years of management experience across federal, state and local government sectors, as well as experience as a tourism business owner.  

For over a decade, he operated his own national award-winning tourism business, Discovery Ecotours Australia, before joining the NSW Government as their Tourism Engagement Manager. In this role, Martin led the tourism industry engagement of a global first conservation project, the Great Eastern Ranges initiative. He then joined Parks Australia as their Assistant Director to develop visitor experiences in some of Australia’s most iconic national parks.  

In July 2015, he was appointed Manager Business and Innovation at Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council and was responsible for heading the establishment of a new economic development branch and leading urban renewal projects, CBD master planning, place management, tourism, grants, events and management of Councils performing arts venues.  

Over the last seven years, Martin has been the Chair of the Canberra Region Joint Organisation Economic Development Working Group. This working group is comprised of 10 NSW regional councils that collaborate on regionally significant issues.

I believe Martin has the ideal mix of private and public sector experience to lead the City of Ballarat’s newly formed business unit “Economy, Experience and Commonwealth Games”. A key focus of this role will be driving reactivation, ongoing attraction and investment into Ballarat while also ensuring the Commonwealth Games provides a lasting legacy for our community.