Committee welcomed back our members for an engaging Big Ideas forum, where 60+ members explored the opportunities for our region in preparation for the federal and state election cycles and the new Council Plans. The session was designed to co-create the first run at Committee’s contribution to a broader process that must produce a united and aligned view of the specific projects that collectively our city and regional leaders can take to all three layers of government.
We know that if we are to be successful advocating for big projects, then we need to be crystal clear on what those projects are and be ‘laser like’ in our focus when talking with all layers of government. The cliché “Singing from the same song sheet” is only possible when you have a song sheet to sing from. We are again at the stage of writing the ‘song sheet’ for our regions’ future.
The five big ideas that emerged were as follows:
- Lead the way in sustainable development and renewable energy
- Develop a 20 year Regional Plan
- A CBD / City deal with a focus on education, housing and business to generate employment
- Focus on a Value Add Economy, leveraging regional product for high yield outputs, especially in agriculture
- Transport, inter-city (Melb and regional centres) and intra-city (within the city), to encourage less reliance on cars in a growing population
Readers will not be surprised by this list, though we do need to move from the aspirational, longer term views, to the focused shorter term projects that will attract government and potentially business support.
The February Big Ideas Forum was just one step in our on-going role To inspire diverse thought leadership and unlock potential.
You can download the Big Ideas report here
You can download the full list of ideas generated at the Forum here