focusinterview.
Tregilgas
Executive Officer Regional Development Australia Mid North Coast
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ell us about yourself and the role of RDA Mid North Coast. I’m the Executive Officer (EO) of Regional Development Australia – Mid North Coast. We’re based in Gordon Street, Port Macquarie, opposite Bells Bakery, and sorry for the pun but we have role with the whole of the Mid North Coast, including the six Council areas from Taree to Coffs Harbour. I moved here from Adelaide in February 2010, leaving behind a couple of kids still in university and a lengthy career in arts and festival management, social enterprise and marketing. My claim to fame is that I was the former Director of the Adelaide Festival Fringe and Festival Consultant to the Victorian Tourism Commission, working directly with South Australian icon and former Premier Don Dunstan. My role as EO of RDA Mid North Coast is in many ways about championing innovation and connections. The Mid North Coast has many voices, and the role of the EO is to assist our Board and partners to work together for the region. We want people, businesses, local governments and organisations across the Mid North Coast to connect, cluster, network, and band together to capitialise on our natural assets, encourage investment and promote a sustainable economic base for our region. How can the RDA Mid North Coast focus benefit the region? Many of the issues we face as a region are potential opportunities. For example the role of infrastructure such as the NBN rollout, the Pacific Highway, hospitals and tertiary education developments will deliver investment, create jobs, and help to hold more young people to the region. 76
greater port macquarie focus.
Investment such as these benefit from wider though, is that we import more than we regional collaboration including neighbouring export. We need to consider how we may regions and Local Government Areas. This is stimulate innovation to promote value added where RDA Mid North Coast helps to facilitate opportunities. a connection between the different players and Economic development means employment, layers of government. It’s that classic concept doesn’t it? that the whole is greater than the sum of its In terms of employment, the health care and parts. I’m a big picture type and like to take a social assistance sector is the dominant sector in helicopter view of things - we’ve coined the Port Macquarie, and it’s growing at an impressive phrase: “Many communities, one region”. rate. The $110 million development that’s Research is an important part of currently underway at Port Macquarie what RDA does. How do you Base Hospital will no doubt help go about it, and what are to fuel this trend. The health some of the interesting sector delivers more than figures for Greater Port health; it provides an The Pacific Highway Macquarie? economic benefit of provide A priority for the duplication will $2.20 for every $1 of to us unique access oducts RDA Mid North Coast expenditure. That means pr markets for our is to provide valuable jobs − and not just in the om in the corridor fr analysis of our industries health sector. d an ey Brisbane to Sydn and community. In The percentage of be yo nd .” that respect, we’re an people with full-time information organisation. work in the Port MacquarieRDA Mid North Coast has Hastings area is 21%. This secured online data licences for is significantly lower than the each of the Council areas and our state average of 29%. Of course, a whole region. This allows us to access the most lot of people are retired, or working part-time, up to date economic and community information but we want to see more full-time employment from across our region and compare that to the opportunities. One possibility that we’ve been state/national benchmarks to identify the gaps shouting from the rooftops is this explosion or the opportunities. We use this data to delve in health care and social assistance has real into statistics on employment, key industries, potential to give young professionals a working how they are performing, and demographics future here. on the people who live here. The RDA Data app Another important recent improvement for is online and free for anyone to access and is a infrastructure for Port Macquarie and the region fantastic resource. is transport. The Pacific Highway duplication Research analysis tells us that manufacturing will provide us unique access to markets for is a major output of the region. This is made up our products in the corridor from Brisbane to of several sectors, including food manufacturing Sydney and beyond. The upgrade to the airport and metal fabrication. An issue for the region will continue to position the location as a key
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passenger terminal for the region, servicing both tourism and business. What are some of the future opportunities and challenges? Innovation is crucial, and high speed broadband is a key. An issue for Port Macquarie is that it is significantly behind in the National Broadband Network (NBN) rollout. There are fixed wireless services coming online in the area which will benefit those hinterland homes and businesses, but the CBD and industrial areas have not been identified in the current 3 year NBN plan to receive fibre optic cable. Challenges like this are the reason RDA Mid North Coast is bringing T.H.E. Exchange exhibition and seminar program to Port Macquarie Panthers on August 2. This is a free expo that showcases the benefits of high speed internet. RDA Mid North Coast is presenting a seminar at the event called ‘Digital Engagement’, which I can recommend to anyone who wants to see what their technology future could look like. Tell us 3 quick ways people can benefit from connecting with RDA Mid North Coast? 1. Explore our free online Regional Data Application, which provides detailed industry and demographic data on every area of the Mid North Coast. Go to www.rdamidnorthcoast.org. au 2. Get in the know with our monthly eNewsletter, which has the latest news from across our region. You can subscribe via our website or Facebook page. 3. Attend our FREE Digital Engagement seminar at T.H.E Exchange expo in Port Macquarie Panthers on August 2. This fun and media-rich presentation will show you what your technology future might look like. Thanks Peter. Interview by Jo Atkins.