Winemakers, graziers, teachers, architects, and other operators and producers met to create strategies that could directly influence business opportunities.
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The task force was an opportunity for people with a variety of skill sets to work collaboratively to identify opportunities that are practical and usable, innovative and can be implemented in the near future, said John Grace, senior consultant Regional Development Innovations.
“Tourism is part of the answer, but so is aged care, service industries, and other services,” he said.
There is a broad range of participants from the many different areas of business; agriculture, tourism, retail, graziers, architects, he said.
In small teams, participants worked together to identify and plan actions that could directly contribute to the growth of the Shire’s economy.
Peter McLean, John Grace and Jane Robinson facilitated the discussion, along with the local council.
There three main opportunities are tourism, retirement and lifestyle living, and agriculture, said Councillor Richard Opie, chair of the economic development task force.
“The Shire is defined by beautiful open countryside.
“We are a very young shire with incredible opportunities with a very strong agricultural base and history. We need to be prepared for the future because the change is happening, we need to review our planning guidelines to meet the future needs of the Shire and implement incentives to make this growth process one that invites people to our Shire and promotes and regulates good planning principles”, said Cr Opie.
Since 2012, the number of ratepayers living out of the Shire has grown, this financial input from residents outside our Shire, and tourists protect the economy, he said.
However, we need to look across the Shire for light industrial opportunities, by way of a mix of private funding and government funding, he added.