By DEAN LAWSON

The potential of the Wimmera and southern Mallee economy to grow by $1-billion in the next 10 years will be a subject at a development meeting in Horsham next month.

Wimmera Development Association executive director Chris Sounness will present projections outlining ways to achieve the figure at the association’s November 12 annual meeting.

Mr Sounness said he would present estimates showing the potential of the regional economy to grow to $5-billion in 2030.

He said he was keen to gauge response and to see whether member councils believed it was achievable based on a list of objectives.

He said projections taking a business-as-usual approach were $3-billion to $4-billion.

 “If we want a great place to live where everyone has an opportunity and it is in our control to do something about it, we need to have an aspiration. I’m putting forward a $5-billion regional economy,” he said.

Mr Sounness said the figure was part of an overall vision he had worked on since taking on the executive director role in mid-August, and he was now ‘testing the water’.

He said creating a mosaic landscape where opportunities surrounding everything from intensification and diversification to environmental management was fundamental to exploring an extra billion dollars in growth during the next decade.

“Much of what we need to do is ensuring our communities, leaders and everyday people stay up to date and tuned in to technological development and progress,” he said.

“As a region we must also be aware of where markets for what we produce are constantly evolving, such as Asia, and understand that the Wimmera and southern Mallee is part of a world stage.

“This $5-billion figure, while aspirational in nature, can be achievable, especially in working through what we can control and influence.

“Because we live here it’s easy to forget how much potential is in our landscape and our people.”

Mr Sounness said a key issue he had identified in research and observations was a need to establish a powerful reason for people to call the region home.

“This is where aspiration again comes into the equation. We need to establish an economy where people, young people in particular, believe there is an opportunity to not only work here, but to thrive and develop their careers,” he said.

“They need this, while at the same time have confidence that where they are calling home is a great place to live and raise families. 

“Having a natural and healthy environment as well as facilities, services and people around you that you enjoy keeping company with all seem pretty simple parts of a formula. But sometimes these can be the hardest things to meet.”

Agricultural enterprise

Mr Sounness said stepping into the position at the head of the association had provided a great opportunity for the organisation to continue its tradition of regularly pushing a reset button.

“Always exploring where we are and where we believe we can go is important, especially for an organisation tuning in to development across a large and productive region,” he said.

Mr Sounness, who joined the association from Birchip Cropping Group, confirmed a strong belief that agricultural enterprise would continue to play a fundamental role in the region’s  progress and development. He added that mining, energy production and tourism, and the way the region capitalised on servicing each sector for its own benefit, would be crucial in realising economic growth.

“An important way of thinking for our region is to always consider different ways of value-adding to make the most from what we are producing,” he said.

“We don’t want to be simply producing a commodity for someone else to gain value from, when we could be capitalising on this opportunity ourselves.”

Wimmera Development Association members include Horsham Rural City, Northern Grampians, Hindmarsh, Yarriambiack and West Wimmera shire councils.

The association’s annual meeting will be in Federation University Australia’s Horsham campus auditorium from 7.30pm.

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