Cr Armstrong was elected to the council in October 2016 and said her first-term had been a "rollercoaster".

"The first two years were incredibly challenging and really difficult for the community," she said.

"The whole community was suffering from the consequences of some pretty poor behaviour.

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"In the last two years, the whole community and organisation have seen a real step forward, and we are starting to feel a massive difference.

"It has been hard work, there's no doubt about that, but everybody has rolled up their sleeves.

"The most recent local government survey really proved the difference that people were feeling right across the community."

Cr Armstrong said Ararat would have an "extraordinary opportunity" to build up its population.

"We have job vacancies that are not being filled in our municipality. There is a real opportunity to continue that job growth but we desperately need housing stock," she said.

"We really need places for people to live. That's a very strong strategic focus that the council has.

"I think people really have a renewed sense of the quality of life that's on offer in regional Victoria."

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Cr Armstrong said the East Grampians water pipeline extension would provide significant economic benefits to Ararat.

The Wimmera Mallee Pipeline will be extended to provide water to farm gates in the region where groundwater and surface catchments are unreliable.

"Water security brings incredible confidence into our region and those opportunities for valuating across agriculture business are just tremendous," she said.

"GWM Water has started to provide some quadrant zones of where they are going to put in the new pipeline to service more rural properties.

"It's a very staged roll out ... but eventually it is going to come all the way to south-east and south of Ararat.

"The diversification and evaluation opportunities that it will bring is just absolutely fantastic."

Cr Armstrong has lived and farmed in Yalla-Y-Poora for 30 years, growing fine Merino wool, fat lambs, canola, wheat and barley.

"I have always been farming and I previously worked at St Mary's Primary School doing business administration," she said.

"I have always been involved in community organisation ... and believed in voluntary service and held civic service.

"I saw a real need for change across the way we were being represented by the Ararat Rural City in 2016.

"I supposed there were more reasons to do it than not to do it.

"If you want to see change you have to be part of it."

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