INAUGURAL INLAND GROWTH SUMMIT SUCCESS

4 February 2019

Regional Development Australia (RDA) Orana Chair John Walkom was very pleased the inaugural Inland Growth Summit was such a success.

“It was a sold out event with attendees from across the
Eastern Seaboard, including all levels of government and the private sector with
a full day program that received a fantastic response from attendees,” Mr
Walkom said.

“Our aim was to spotlight the real need for regional policy
and plan and to support growth centres within Inland Australia, the desperate
need for population growth to service projects and support sustainable and
ongoing economic growth, and I think we achieved that,”

“Special thanks to our outstanding speakers, Mark Coulton
MP, Dr Tom Measham, Liz Ritchie, Fiona Nash, Roger Fletcher, Peter Vlatko,
Jillian Kilby, Michael Comninos, Susan Benedyka, and Aleem Ali that all
generously donated their time on the day, providing an in-depth look into
impediments to growth for regional Australia, strategic planning for the future
and outlook and growth targets,”

“Common themes that came out of the day included changing
the perception of what regional Australia has to offer, liveability, the
importance of migration for inland areas, guide on policy, connectivity,
leadership, partnerships and champions in our communities, finance availability
and what cooperation can do,”

 “Our next aim will be
to create a regional alliance, as discussed in the workshop on the day to place
inland Australia at the forefront of decision making,” Mr Walkom said.

For a complete wrap up of the day and the speaker
presentations go to https://www.rdaorana.org.au/inland-growth-summit-2019/.