| Jobs, Policy and Housing, but next stop is 2021 Federal Budget Liz Ritchie CEO, Regional Australia Institute (RAI)
| | | As the nation grapples with a myriad of pandemic-related issues, it’s important to remember that our economy has recovered better than anyone would have expected. Given regional Australia’s strong role in aiding a swift recovery, next month’s Federal Budget will need to ensure a strong focus on our regions. I am, therefore, honoured to once again host the Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon. Michael McCormack for a free Pre-Budget Address, to be held next Wednesday, May 5. I hope you can join us. To register, please click here. The Regions Rising Policy Hack sessions again provided great insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by our rural and regional communities through the four key themes of – Jobs and Employment, Health and Education, Leadership and Building Resilient Communities. While the final summary for government is still underway, many of the findings continue to be consistent and certainly support our organisation’s ambition for regionalisation. Regional decision-makers see duplication as well as gaps and know that there is a better way. Participants are calling for ‘true’ partnerships that allow for genuine engagement to start solving some of these prolonged issues such as: human capital and skills shortages; local capacity building; liveability; housing; and robust evidence and data for good decision making at all levels of government. We will be providing the full summary of the Policy Hack to government and will then release the results nationally over coming months. Needless to say, the significance of skills and job vacancies continue to be front and centre across rural and regional Australia, with our most recent Regional Job Vacancy report revealing a record 66,200 jobs were advertised in March. This new record again confirms what regional leaders and employers have been telling us – regions need more people. To help solve this challenge, city residents will start to see the roll-out of our multi-million dollar, national awareness campaign, Move to More, in late May. This will include TV and radio commercials, digital advertising and, of course, billboards on major arterial roads. We are in the final stages of producing a Move to More Supporters’ Pack with tools and resources that will help regional stakeholders, including local councils, link our national campaign to a local level. Watch this space! From the overwhelming feedback we have received since the media launch, it appears our country has been waiting for this campaign and whilst we are very aware of the work required to enact our ambitions, this is, no doubt, a turning point for our nation. Last Friday, we launched our new Horizons Leadership Program in partnership with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Seventeen regional leaders from across Australia will be skilled on place branding and how to showcase their region to the world. Their ultimate objective: creating an international engagement strategy and developing new ideas that foster long-term alliances and sustainable strategies for growing our regions. Finally, tickets are now available for our first Regions Rising webinar for 2021, Housing in Regional Australia: Meeting a Growing Demand. This free, hour-long event will be held on Thursday, May 20 at 11 am. Regional housing is undoubtedly a critical issue. We know that housing affordability is a key driver for potential movers, but housing access and supply can also be a key barrier. Our Chief Economist, Dr Kim Houghton will lead a panel of experts, including our keynote speaker Tim Lawless from Corelogic, to shed light on this topic. Once again, I thank our national series partners NBN Co and Nutrien Ag Solutions, for their ongoing support.
Until then, stay safe and stay connected.Liz RitchieCEO, Regional Australia Institute
| | |