Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / ig Rivers Economic Growth Committee chair Alison Ross explains the region's 10 year plan to grow the population

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ig Rivers Economic Growth Committee chair Alison Ross explains the region's 10 year plan to grow the population · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Now we do know that.
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  Speaker 2: This week the Big Rivers Regional Economic Growth Committee has
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  Speaker 2: launched the Big Rivers Regional Economic Growth Plan. Now, it's
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  Speaker 2: a collaborative, decade long plan which sets ambitious goals for
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  Speaker 2: the economic and jobs growth across thirty four yeah, three
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  Speaker 2: hundred and forty I should say, three hundred and forty
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  Speaker 2: thousand square kilometers of the Big Rivers Region, nearly twenty
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  Speaker 2: five percent of the Northern Territories land area. Now, the
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  Speaker 2: Big River's Regional Economic Growth Committee has developed the ten
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  Speaker 2: year roadmap for regional Economic Growth, with the strategic goal
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  Speaker 2: of a three billion dollar economy, one thousand more jobs,
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  Speaker 2: and significantly increased population by twenty thirty.
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  Speaker 1: So what does the plan mean for the region.
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  Speaker 2: Well, joining me on the show to tell us more
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  Speaker 2: is the Big River's Regional Economic Growth Committee Chair Allison Ross.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to you. Allison, Good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 3: How are you?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, really good? Thanks so much for joining us on
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  Speaker 1: the show.
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  Speaker 2: Alison, can you tell me a bit more about how
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  Speaker 2: this plan or what was developed.
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  Speaker 3: Well, I'm obviously a member of the community, a small
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  Speaker 3: business owner. I guess as the Catherine the Big Rivers Region,
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  Speaker 3: we obviously are up against all these other regions around
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  Speaker 3: Australia trying to attract staff. You know, small business in Catherine,
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  Speaker 3: even organizations government find it hard to attract staff to
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  Speaker 3: the region. I've been there for over twenty years and
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  Speaker 3: that's sort of all we've been ongoing. So how can
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  Speaker 3: we attract people to our region. Obviously I'm in sales
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  Speaker 3: and marketing background, so we've looked at branding. So we've
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  Speaker 3: launched this as an attraction to Catherine. So you know,
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  Speaker 3: come to Crash and a lot of people love it
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  Speaker 3: and you choose to live there for quite a long time.
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  Speaker 3: So let's promote that to the rest of Australia to
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  Speaker 3: try and get that branding, which will then flow on
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  Speaker 3: to getting people moving here. So what that leads to
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  Speaker 3: our need for as a collaborative group, which brings in
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  Speaker 3: obviously councils and different levels of government, is for that
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  Speaker 3: funding towards social infrastructure, direction on health and education. You know,
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  Speaker 3: we did a survey to work out what it is
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  Speaker 3: that makes it livable now and more livable and that
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  Speaker 3: was an awesome result and that sort of came back
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  Speaker 3: then to help put together the strategic plan or we
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  Speaker 3: needed yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Right, because I know that, Iver.
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  Speaker 2: I guess the last couple of years we've seen that
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  Speaker 2: real job shortage in lots of different regions, and it
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  Speaker 2: can be very difficult to try and get people to
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  Speaker 2: move and live somewhere regional. How tough has it been,
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  Speaker 2: you know, in the Big Rivers region over the last
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  Speaker 2: couple of years in terms of the job shortages and
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  Speaker 2: trying to fill those positions.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, and it has been tough. Obviously, COVID was a
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  Speaker 3: bit of a plus because a lot of people from
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  Speaker 3: the Southern States got out of Victoria and came to
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  Speaker 3: the region. As soon as the border's open, a lot
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  Speaker 3: of people left again, So trying to find out how
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  Speaker 3: can we attract that who were to come back, and
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  Speaker 3: how can you try to stay longer? You know, what
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  Speaker 3: are they used to living in their lifestyles in the
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  Speaker 3: southern and Eastern States or Western states that they want
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  Speaker 3: to come and stay and live up here because there
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  Speaker 3: is so many things and features offer.
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  Speaker 1: So what are sort of the key priorities of the plan? Allison?
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  Speaker 3: The main, obviously priority is a social infrastructure, so looking
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  Speaker 3: at how we can improve obviously health and education in
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  Speaker 3: those respects, but they're also things such as connectivity, so
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  Speaker 3: sort of your internet service highways. You know, we do
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  Speaker 3: have pretty good roads, but we do have a lot
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  Speaker 3: of industry growth in our area forecast, So how our
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  Speaker 3: highways be impacted? You know, traveling around that highway is good.
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  Speaker 3: Over taking lanes is a good mobile service. Water Obviously,
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  Speaker 3: Security from a domestic and agricultural and commercial side of things,
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  Speaker 3: obviously you've been through pfact so how you look at
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  Speaker 3: that on the longer term security? And yeah, just sort
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  Speaker 3: of some of those the core core infrastructure that then
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  Speaker 3: flow on to than the other industries.
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  Speaker 2: And look, I guess to some listening this morning, they'll
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  Speaker 2: be thinking it does sound quite ambitious, a three billion
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  Speaker 2: dollar economy, one thousand more jobs, and significantly increase population
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  Speaker 2: by twenty thirty. But it does also sound as though
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  Speaker 2: there's potentially plenty of big opportunities for the region. How
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  Speaker 2: are you going to sort of get it all moving?
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  Speaker 3: I guess that's where we are advisors to government, and
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  Speaker 3: we're a committee of you know, volunteers that put together
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  Speaker 3: some thoughts and visions. Are the other ones that have
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  Speaker 3: helped pull the statistics together. I guess it's just keeping
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  Speaker 3: working on. You know, we've got forecasts in income with
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  Speaker 3: these industries start getting some that big infrastructure in place,
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  Speaker 3: you know, in Caster over twenty years. To me and
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  Speaker 3: my opinion, it seems a lot more sustainable than some
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  Speaker 3: other areas of the territory. You know, we've had some
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  Speaker 3: issues come and go where markets will peak and then
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  Speaker 3: trough or as cast them. Seems quite a central location
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  Speaker 3: for the whole the territory accessibility to east, west, north south.
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  Speaker 3: So I'm the same look to give the confidence as
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  Speaker 3: back the Big Rivers Region that where we're here to
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  Speaker 3: stay and we're here to make some sort of good
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  Speaker 3: money for the economy, and.
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  Speaker 2: What do you reckon Some of the big opportunities are
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  Speaker 2: for the region.
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  Speaker 3: Obviously, just the pure serviceability we've got our communities the
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  Speaker 3: Big Rivers Region. I think you look geographically, it covers
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  Speaker 3: all the way to Borrow Lulla through a large amount
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  Speaker 3: of to this population needing servicing in that area. Obviously
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  Speaker 3: they're looking at the mirning opportunities that's still ongoing. And
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  Speaker 3: obviously then agriculture, how things and accessibility to markets open
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  Speaker 3: up as population growth comes in different areas, how does
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  Speaker 3: that affect food production? And obviously then fiber production you know,
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  Speaker 3: possibly with a cotton that's happening in the area gin
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  Speaker 3: being built, and then accessibility, you know, freight in, freight
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  Speaker 3: out logistics.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah right, and.
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  Speaker 2: I'm assuming as well that there are some plans for
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  Speaker 2: indigenous development in this plan as well.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, they are. Certainly. One of our members is actually
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  Speaker 3: one of our jar and directors, so certainly what success
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  Speaker 3: they have had today, and lots of planned direction that
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  Speaker 3: they're heading with their business. And obviously then employment opportunities
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  Speaker 3: in those regions, so obviously on indigenous owned land, for
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  Speaker 3: Indigenous owned businesses and for Indigenous employment opportunities there.
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  Speaker 2: And Alison, I guess the million dollar question or one
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  Speaker 2: that everybody you know always thinks when there is a
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  Speaker 2: plan like this developed, how soon do you think it
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  Speaker 2: could sort of start to see some of the benefits.
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  Speaker 3: That's something that probably government with based on funding. But
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  Speaker 3: certainly the branding is a really thing we're excited about.
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  Speaker 3: We do have a video that's based I saw it
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  Speaker 3: on LinkedIn yesterday, so we'll hopefully get that out across.
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  Speaker 3: I'm hoping that local businesses do have sort of media suite.
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  Speaker 3: So if you're a small business in the Big Rivers region,
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  Speaker 3: I want some to come and be a plumber electrician.
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  Speaker 3: You can tag in, Hey, this is what it's like.
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  Speaker 3: So when people google what's it like to live and
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  Speaker 3: work in the Big Rivers Region, paying, you've got this
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  Speaker 3: awesome marketing tool that we can use to attract people
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  Speaker 3: to come here. Because we think the survey found that
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  Speaker 3: seventy six the center people either love it or really
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  Speaker 3: liked living in that region. So yeah, that's a pretty
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  Speaker 3: awesome statistic that we're proud of.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, well, I think it's you know, I think it's good.
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  Speaker 2: I think it's really good. And I think what all
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  Speaker 2: Territorians want to see is, you know, for our population
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  Speaker 2: to be boosted and certainly in some of our more
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  Speaker 2: regional locations like the Big Rivers Region, being able to
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  Speaker 2: you know, to fill those jobs and keep people their
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  Speaker 2: long term if possible.
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  Speaker 3: God, definitely, definitely, it's a it's a great place to live.
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  Speaker 3: It's not like or Sydney, as we know, we acknowledge that.
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  Speaker 3: And I guess being you know, in catering, it sort
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  Speaker 3: of like there's more of a churchy than just Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, well, we really appreciate you having a chat with
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  Speaker 2: us this morning. Allison and yeah, let us know how
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  Speaker 2: things do progress. Would be very keen to keep in contact.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for your Tom Daddie, Thank you