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WOLLONGONG RECORD OF CONSULTATION

1 OCTOBER 2013

regionalaustralia.org.au PAGE 2

WOLLONGONG – RECORD OF CONSULTATION October 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 3

2. Background and purpose .................................................................................................................. 52.1. Objectives of the Wollongong forum .................................................................................................... 52.2. Description of the consultation process .................................................................................................. 5

2.2.1. Community conversation – the open forum ................................................................... 52.2.2. Outline of policy roundtable ............................................................................................ 62.2.3. Targeting participation in the consultations .................................................................. 6

3. The Results ............................................................................................................................................. 83.1. Major themes from the open community forum .................................................................................... 8

What makes this region great and work well at present? .................................................................. 8

What do you think has been present to make it work and /or make it work better at points of time in the past? ........................................................................................................................................ 11

What do you think needs to be in place for the region to be at its very best? .......................... 11

Top 5 actions that the groups believed may be part of making the region perform at its very best. ............................................................................................................................................................. 13

3.1.1. Business development ...................................................................................................... 153.1.2. Civic leadership and strategy ....................................................................................... 153.1.3. Human capital & skill development .............................................................................. 153.1.4. Regional Identity .............................................................................................................. 163.1.5. Illawarra Development Corporation (IDC) .................................................................. 163.1.6. Infrastructure ..................................................................................................................... 16

3.2. Input to the policy roundtable .............................................................................................................. 18

4. NEXT STEPS ....................................................................................................................................... 19

Appendix A – Powerpoint presentation policy roundtable ............................................................. 21

Powerpoint presentation – community conversations ........................................................................ 22

Powerpoint presentation – Business Council of Australia (BCA) ...................................................... 23

Appendix B – Invitation and advertisement for the policy roundtable ......................................... 24

Appendix C – Verbatim inputs to the open forum ............................................................................. 26

What makes this region great and work well at present? ............................................................... 26

What do you think has been present to make it work and/or make it work better at points of time in the past? ........................................................................................................................................ 28

What do you think needs to be in place for the region to be at its very best? .......................... 29



1. INTRODUCTION The Regional Australia Institute’s (RAI) [In]Sight: the regional competitiveness index, and the Business Council of Australia’s (BCA) Action plan for enduring prosperity have been developed to help identify key drivers of economic growth in the regions and for the nation as a whole. Both these resources provide an insight for policy makers about opportunities for economic growth and the challenges that must be addressed. They also point to where further investment may be needed. Adding a regional perspective to the work of the RAI and the BCA will help further policy development. Local knowledge and advice about community and regional attributes and aspirations will assist and refine the ongoing work of the RAI and the BCA. The RAI and the BCA would like to thank all the collaborators and participants who attended the open forum and policy roundtable in Wollongong. Working with people on the ground to help regions understand and capitalise on their full potential is a core objective of the RAI and assists the BCA in its broader agenda. The consultative process provides a platform for both organisations to realise these goals. The input from the community of Wollongong will be invaluable to developing the future agenda of the RAI and the BCA, reflecting regional knowledge, interests and variation. The RAI and the BCA will draw on these insights in advocating policy reform to governments at the state and federal level, with the open forums providing a conduit to allow regional voices to be heard on a national stage. This document is a record of the input from the community to these consultations. It is a reference document for the RAI, the BCA, those located in the region of Wollongong and other interested community members.



2. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The RAI and the BCA are undertaking a series of ‘community conversations’ in regional Australia as part of each organisation’s broader consultation process following the recent release of the RAI’s [In]Sight and the BCA’s Action plan for enduring prosperity. Both the RAI and the BCA support and seek to promote the identification and development of Australia’s comparative advantage by creating the right environment and systems to foster and drive innovation, diversify the economy and play to Australia’s strengths. The planning for these community conversations has focussed on trying to maximise the opportunity for input from the community and the use of this in the development of the future agenda for the RAI and the BCA.

2.1. Objectives of the Wollongong forum

The objectives of the Wollongong forum included: • Understanding of the local initiatives that are already happening to develop the

region, • Identifying examples of initiatives the participants believe could happen in the future, • Finding ways we could work together to turn these ideas into reality.

2.2. Description of the consultation process

The Wollongong consultations, held at the Wollongong City Council offices on Tuesday 1 October 2013, involved an open forum from 9:00 to 11:00am, followed by a policy roundtable from 12:00 – 1:30pm. The sessions provided an opportunity for the RAI and the BCA to outline their respective work on the RAI’s [In]Sight and the BCA’s Action plan for enduring prosperity. More importantly, the sessions provided an opportunity for the RAI and the BCA to hear about the regions’ attributes and aspirations. Both events were designed to provide some input from the RAI and the BCA to the community on the competitiveness profile of the region. The goal was to maximise the opportunity for dialogue and input from the community in determining what roles the RAI and the BCA might take in assisting the region to achieve its full potential.

2.2.1. Community conversation – the open forum The open forum was focussed on the future for the region and the key drivers of competitiveness as identified in the RAI’s [In]Sight – innovation, human capital and technological readiness. It drew on the data in [In]Sight to gain an understanding of why the region has particular strengths and weaknesses, the underlying and contributing factors to its competitiveness profile, and how this is impacting on the region. The conversation provided an opportunity for the BCA to listen to local people talk about key issues affecting the local economy; to help assess how they align with opportunities and challenges at the national level.



2.2.2. Outline of policy roundtable The policy roundtable included two short opening presentations by the RAI (on [In]Sight) and the BCA (on the Action plan for enduring prosperity and future work on Australia’s competitive advantage). The presentations to the policy roundtable are available in Appendix A. The policy roundtable also considered the feedback provided during the forum, examined the actions put forward and considered how the region can grow. It identified the barriers to increasing competitiveness in the region and what can be done to address these barriers, along with the policy mechanisms that need to be put in place.

2.2.3. Targeting participation in the consultations Invitations to participate in the open forum were sent out on behalf of the RAI by the Wollongong City Council. In addition, an advertisement inviting community members to attend appeared in the local paper, the Illawarra Mercury, on one occasion leading up to the event. A copy of the emailed invitation and the advertisement are attached as Appendix B. The policy roundtable invitations were sent to a number of contacts known to representatives of the RAI. These contacts were asked to forward the invitation to other key decision makers in the Wollongong region, business and community representatives, young people and senior students from the local schools. Representatives of the following organisations attended the policy roundtable:

• BlueScope (2) • University of Wollongong • Wollongong City Council (7) • School of Medicine, University of Wollongong • IRIS Research • State Training Services • RDA Illawarra • Wollondilly Shire Council • NSW Trade and Investment (2) • AI Group • ICT Illawarra • Shellharbour City Council • Department of Premier and Cabinet • Property Council of Australia- Illawarra Chapter • Illawarra Business Chamber • Destination Wollongong • NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure



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3. THE RESULTS The consultation process was designed by PlanCom Consulting Pty Ltd, a specialist planning and community engagement company, and facilitated by Margaret Harvie. The facilitator’s role was to ensure that people had an opportunity to provide their input and that these were recorded for the purpose of this report which will inform the future work of the RAI and the BCA.

3.1. Major themes from the open community forum

Following introductions and an outline of the session, Su McCluskey, CEO of the RAI provided a briefing on the Institute and its work including the development of [In]Sight. This was followed by a series of breakout sessions where participants discussed the following three questions:

1. What makes this region great and work well at present? 2. What do you think has been present to make it work and/or make it work better at

points of time in the past? 3. What do you think needs to be in place for the region to be at its very best?

All inputs by all groups to these questions are attached in Appendix C. The major themes provided by the participants in response to each of the three discussion questions are as follows:

What makes this region great and work well at present? • Creative arts / community / lifestyle • Maintained strong industrial heart while diversifying into other sectors, e.g., knowledge • Good educational facilities / hospitals/ university and innovation campus etc

a) opportunity for educational qualifications b) world class university c) opportunities for research and development employment d) attracts people to area e) capacity for partnerships between different education and training and university

• Natural environment a) geographical assets - the beach / escarpment b) the use of the environment c) creates quality of lifestyle and keeps people happy d) beauty and open spaces

• Business/ industry a) close knit business community b) wide variety of different industry sectors - mining / port c) Port Kembla

• Sense of community/ people a) initiative and desire to improve b) openness to change c) comfortable with each other d) everybody knows everybody – strong networks e) big small town mentality



f) vibrant g) aspiring h) ethnic mix, community mix, diversity – accept each other i) many different skills

• Recreation and sport and entertainment a) excellent facilities b) national sporting teams c) access to sporting and health and swimming pools

• Our unique history • Commitment to be a great place to live – pride and caring • Tourism

a) gateway to tourist trail (south coast) b) good conference and function facilities

• Micro communities a) location based b) group and network based

• Soft – Infrastructure a) varied socio-economics b) social and institutional networks c) embracing the aging population

• Roads and infrastructure • Movement and action - within the community – engagement • Proximity to large cities, airport and port

a) Sydney and Canberra b) best of both worlds c) access to transport d) allows for different businesses

• Having an elected council • Affordable cost of living • Access to fresh produce • Unrealised potential • Strong social capital, participation and volunteerism • Technology

a) sophistication, e.g., IT graduates b) good access to technology c) programs to help SME to use it

• Skilled workforce (get taken by other areas) • Hospitality, cafes restaurants etc • Good early childhood sector and services (including good training organisations) • Pool of human capital with potential • Good and accessible health services • City is safe and friendly



What do you think has been present to make it work and /or make it work better at points of time in the past?

• Used to be strong sense of community but has broken down • Used to be a major centre but has declined • No really strong strategic direction • Our own football team • Stronger industry based in part through the steelworks workforce • Need greater diversity in employment • Technology rather than people • University

a) good for employment /bringing people into the area b) good for the image of Wollongong - not just industrial c) expansion of university

• Leadership • Development and planning • Higher local employment in past – youth employment • Opportunity for non-tertiary educated people • Greater sense of local communities, e.g. Port Kembla • Working class area • Unions and workforce – working as a team • Migration • Port Kembla development • Investment in tourism

a) development of sea front b) Lake Illawarra c) Seacliff Bridge d) Nan Tien Temple

• Resources boom including coal (past) • Receptive to diversification • Proximity to Sydney • Education improvements • Move away from commute to Sydney • Need a way to promote the skilled graduates from university / regions • Aged care, health industry growing in Illawarra • Despite proximity to international visitors via Airport we don’t generate tourism • Missing tourism facilities to encourage people to visit and stay. • Safe electoral eat! • Ports as a source of exports and imports– what is the potential going forward • Natural environment etc and amenity of the city • Relatively less costly than Sydney • ‘Shared Services’ mindset that businesses starting to access

What do you think needs to be in place for the region to be at its very best? • Opportunity for people to engage especially regular community members • Get the three councils plus university, BlueScope etc to work together/collaborate • Better technology

a) need fast broadband



b) how to better utilise the technology • Still have lots of agricultural land opportunity to expand • Region can be too inwardly focused - need to look internationally • Industry/ business

a) venture capital b) less ‘red tape’ for starting a new business c) grow industries / service sectors d) breaking down barriers to business - more business friendly, attracting business e) attract business to region, e.g. incentives f) emerging industries to step up g) need to build on the remaining industrial base in the region h) don’t have a single ‘technology’ / IT focus (city of innovation). Have all eggs in

one ‘new’ basket could drive ideas away as they don’t fit the new mould • Infrastructure

a) fix track / more trains / express trains – improved transit to Sydney b) roads, schools c) wi-fi on trains d) transport e) Port Kembla and better connectivity to Sydney f) build more infrastructure - need to want to come to region - is easy to keep going

to Melbourne and Sydney g) better local airport - more flights h) better parking at Uni / CBD i) how can you use connection to Sydney and improve to build tourism- would a ferry

work? j) put the investment in the infrastructure to make it more attractive

• Internal connectivity • Wollongong become regional capital - replace Sydney, local hub, arts and community • Attract Amazon to put pacific headquarters in Wollongong • Less trade union dominated • Address closed shop, more outsider friendly • Too much welfare • Customer service dreadful • Tourism

a) Skyway connection to Mount Keira b) sophisticated tourism sector c) iconic building

• Film studios • Discovering our assets – infrastructure and people • Mobilising for the Wollongong community • Champion the people in our community

a) connections b) activate public intellectuals c) University of Wollongong graduates- need to be recognised as ambassadors

• Look at the challenges as opportunities • Discovering what people care about • Change to workplace culture – leadership and innovation • Regional leadership

a) good leadership to act on things - strong leadership, bravery. b) need common agenda and strategy



c) more support for workers and workers rights d) funding for leadership development in small to medium sized businesses e) establish regional leaders group

• Branding and sell to outsiders a) who is Wollongong - Identity - our identity b) shared services to attract businesses c) niche development d) perception of the region by others e) leverage of natural environment f) market Wollongong as a location - including the ‘feel’ and culture and lifestyle

• Employment and training a) job creation (have the jobs for those with qualifications) b) supporting long-term unemployed c) further diversification (business) steel works plus university is not enough - need new

industries for non-tertiary educated youth d) target youth unemployment e) lose a lot of talent to Sydney. More entry-level jobs for graduates.

• Better informed community • Planning

a) good infrastructure plan b) missing a plan to bring more business to town c) enhance adaptive capacity - pre-emptive planning

• More regional community involvement, very Wollongong city centric at the moment • Increase collaboration and partnerships to use the dollars available for social policies

- relook at the funding models to reduce the competition and small size of the grants

Top 5 actions that the groups believed may be part of making the region perform at its very best. Participants were invited to work in the same groups to use the material generated in the previous session to identify five priority actions that were important for the region. The answers where then sorted into categories, forming six distinct action areas. Human Capital and Skill Development

• Grow industry / service sector in the Illawarra – collaboration between the University and industry

• Youth programs – apprenticeships and traineeships • Increase high school retention rates and increase training for job readiness for

youth • Funding for Small Medium Enterprise (SME) leadership development • New industry based training and volunteering • Increase partnerships between TAFE/ universities/ business so as to improve

business operations and increase jobs • Make being a city of innovation a reality

Civic Leadership and Strategy

• Regional leadership – visionary • Leadership and grassroots level conversations ongoing



• Establish a regional leaders group • Develop a regional plan – be less Wollongong centric • Better community engagement

Business Development

• Venture capital and seed funding for innovation • Incentives eg tax breaks to attract more business to region • Employment opportunities – private investment • Point of contact for new business in Wollongong • More office space (quality) • Fewer impediments to starting new business

Infrastructure

• Infrastructure – master plan – external investment • Offshore airport (international) • Become an alternative energy hub – both production and manufacture. • Improve public transport, especially to Sydney – fix track, more express

trains etc. • Wi-fi on trains • Frequency of trains to and from Sydney • Government funding for infrastructure

Regional Identity

• Branding of region • Better use of our natural resources, e.g., tourism • Better selling the region • Create an identity with ambassadors and change external perceptions • Marketing better image for business and lifestyle • Identify community assets and link to opportunities • Better events for young people, e.g., live music, surfing, sport, skating,

festivals • Leverage off environment

Illawarra Development Corporation Participants were asked to choose one of these 6 areas to work on and were invited to join any group. The following is the results of the discussions in the small groups around these action areas. The groups were asked to specifically respond to the following questions:

• What is possible for the region to do to build on its current strengths related to this/ these suggested actions?

• What additional support might the region require to do these actions?



3.1.1. Business development

• Existing support needs to be more coordinated • Remove business service duplication • Directory of business support • Shop front for local business support and businesses looking to relocate • Actions versus strategies for decision makers

3.1.2. Civic leadership and strategy

• Creation of a new organization that takes a more holistic view of the Illawarra - social, environment and economic. Be more visionary (potentially the Development Corporation) a) drive regional identity b) stop working in silos c) create ‘Collective impact’ d) create a common agenda e) greater involvement of the whole community

• Illawarra - multiple local government areas

3.1.3. Human capital & skill development

• Support for small business development • Support individual initiatives • Make, encourage youth to be more ‘street smart’ • Asset based community development – work on the personal assets that individuals

have in the community • A central port to find information about pre-existing options for everyone

a) school age b) new generations c) unemployed d) people with a disability e) retirees

• Reviewing the ’job’ focus. Looking at various different options for generating ‘income’. Being innovative about it.

• Youth a) support them more b) planning for future not just keeping them busy! c) how do we engage youth in the future d) ageing population increases opportunities (work / volunteering) e) development of human capital f) use our experience to prepare the youth g) maintain motivation and interest

• Need to see where the gaps are and fill them - connect the gaps • Need to look at whole picture of individuals – not just training • Mentoring • Leveraging on Volunteering Illawarra – connect it better with needs in the community • Think outside the box • Develop ways of connecting individuals in community



3.1.4. Regional Identity

• Highlighting natural assets to the community and Australia, connecting with economic and social opportunities a) marketing b) investment

• Create an Illawarra icon – story, history, natural environment, social demographics • Visual, brand icon, tourism • Entries and exits into the region – first impressions are lasting impressions • More cohesive – Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama approach • Creating community hubs – conversations and connections • Making the Illawarra more attractive to external providers

3.1.5. Illawarra Development Corporation (IDC)

• How to fund and position in relation to existing activities • Need allocation of budget to allow IDC to create plan and work on something

tangible • Create a board of high level folks with commercial rigor. Non-government

3.1.6. Infrastructure

• We have public transport but is it adequate? • Improvement to train

a) speed b) safety

• Port Kembla development • Tourism infrastructure • Hard infrastructure • Soft infrastructure – investment in training, regional identity etc to attract investment

Groups were asked to give the whole group a quick verbal report on the outcomes from their groups. Su McCluskey, CEO, Regional Australia Institute, concluded the forum by thanking everyone for their participation and talking about the next steps.



3.2. Input to the policy roundtable

Presentations by Su McCluskey, CEO, Regional Australia Institute and Maria Tarrant, Deputy CEO, Business Council of Australia preceded a discussion with participants focussed on how participants, the RAI and the BCA could work together to support regional development. This resulted in the following issues and ideas being discussed:

• How we capitalise on what we have • Need to believe in ourselves • Harnessing innovation • Opportunities for young people • What drives confidence • Aligning education and training to where the jobs are in the region • Creativity and its contribution • Role of leadership and developing a "can do" attitude – need to accept that there is

no one silver bullet solution to come from outside of the region • Lots of talk in these processes but we never get down to the actual actions • We are told as a region what is good for us – we are never consulted or asked what

we think • Challenge of operating the national agenda locally • Question of what the state or the nation needs of the Illawarra – knowing this will

allow the region to respond • Need to be able to determine what happens to funds for the region • What are we good at / what are the barriers – need to fight to get what we need • We keep looking for the next Messiah – entrepreneurship is required • Lack of state funding to support the associated infrastructure required • Support for associated infrastructure to service these lands • Challenge of using available industrial / employment lands • We need to be able to attract business, growth and infrastructure • Historical high dependence of the steel industry –business confidence is affected by

what happens in the steel industry • There is a need to focus on building existing business and business confidence, as well

as attracting new business • RDA work and linkages – some information that they have collected may help both the

RAI and the BCA • Of the three drivers in the RAI presentation there was only one that was in the

community forum results As part of the policy roundtable the following ideas were canvassed:

• Help Wollongong to better align education and training to where the jobs are. • Look at the potential to develop an innovation indicator that better reflected what is

happening at the applied end of the spectrum, not just research and development. Look at the work of Creative nation the University of Tasmania

Su McCluskey, CEO, Regional Australia Institute, closed the session and thanked people for their participation.



4. NEXT STEPS RAI’s [In]Sight and the BCA’s Action plan for enduring prosperity have been developed to help identify key drivers of economic growth in the regions and for the nation as a whole. Both resources provide an insight for policy makers about where further investment may be needed. But to achieve positive action, the information they offer needs to be melded with local knowledge to identify where communities want to go, and how organisations like ours can help them get there. Working with people on the ground to help regions understand and capitalise on their full potential is a core objective of the RAI and the BCA, to better understand the potential of regional Australia to help drive Australia’s growth. The consultative process provides a platform for these ambitions to be realised. The input from the community of Wollongong will be invaluable to developing the future agenda of the RAI and the BCA, reflecting regional knowledge, interests and variation. The RAI and the BCA will draw on these insights in advocating policy reform to governments at the state and federal level, with the open forums providing a conduit for regional voices to be heard on a national stage.



Appendix A – Powerpoint presentation policy roundtable



Powerpoint presentation – community conversations



Powerpoint presentation – Business Council of Australia (BCA)



Appendix B – Invitation and advertisement for the policy roundtable



Appendix C – Verbatim inputs to the open forum

What makes this region great and work well at present? Table One

• Creative arts / community / lifestyle • Maintained strong industrial heart while diversifying into other sectors, e.g., knowledge • Good educational facilities / hospitals etc • Strong university • The beach / escarpment • Close knit business community • Wide variety of different industry sectors - mining / port

Table Two

• Natural environment • How we use that environment • Opportunity for educational qualifications • Ethnic mix, community mix, diversity – accept each other • Sense of community (comfortable with each other) • Closeness to Sydney • National sporting teams • Everybody knows everybody • Our unique history • Access to sporting and health • Access to swimming pools • Port Kembla

Table Three

• Mountains and sea – geographical assets • Commitment to be a great place to live – pride and caring • Community /people

a) vibrant b) aspiring

• Tourism • Initiative to improve • Desire • Openness to change • Micro communities

a) location based b) group and network based

• Soft – Infrastructure a) varied Socio-economics b) informal networks c) assets d) embracing the aging population

• Roads and infrastructure • Movement and action - within the community – engagement • Embracing the ageing population



Table Four • Natural landscape

a) good quality of life b) keeps people happy

• Proximity to large cities a) Sydney and Canberra b) best of both worlds

• Having an elected council a) plus- it being elected b) administrator - less politics

• University a) opportunities for research and development employment b) attracts people to area

• Sense of community a) strong networks b) big small town mentality c) communication is good but could be improved

Table Five

• University and Innovation Campus • Geographical location – closer to Sydney, airport • Lifestyle • Affordable cost of living • Strong social and institutional networks • Access to fresh produce • Access to education and entertainment • Access to health services • Gateway to tourist trail (south coast) • Unrealised potential • Strong social capital, participation and volunteerism • Technological sophistication eg IT graduates

Table Six

• Location - local benefits and close to Sydney, transport etc • Diversity of people in the region - long history of immigration and many different

skills • Close to port facilities - allows for different businesses • World class university – skills / research • Skilled workforce (get taken by other areas) • Excellent sporting and recreation facilities • Good conference and function facilities • Transport links are OK - connections to other areas are constrained • Located between Sydney and Canberra • Tourism facilities • Hospitality, cafes restaurants etc



Table Seven • Natural environment, beauty, open and spaces • Size which allows easy access to people you need to know etc (scale allows easy

interaction) • University presence and other education and training facilities and providers • Good early childhood sector and services (including good training organisations) • Capacity for partnerships between different education and training and university • Pool of human capital with potential • Good and accessible health services • On balance closeness to Sydney can be seen as positive • Access to technology good and programs to help SME to use it will help • City is safe and friendly

What do you think has been present to make it work and/or make it work better at points of time in the past? Table One

• Used to be strong sense of community but has broken down • Used to be a major centre but has declined • No really strong strategic direction • Our own football team • Stronger steelworks workforce in the past. • Technology rather than people • University good for employment /bringing people into the area. Also good for the

image of Wollongong - not just industrial. Table Two

• Industry (steelworks) • Leadership • Development and planning • Education • Higher local employment in past – youth employment • Opportunity for non-tertiary educated people • Greater sense of local communities eg Port Kembla • Working class area

Table Three

• Unions and workforce – working as a team • strong industry base, industry heart • University of Wollongong • Migration • Port • Accessibility • Proximity to Sydney – positive and negative • Geographical – coastal • Good access to community assets – free



Table Four • Expansion of university • Steelworks • Port Kembla development • Coal mine • Investment in tourism

a) development of sea front b) Lake Illawarra c) Seacliff Bridge d) Nan Tien Temple

Table Five

• Resources boom (past) • Steelworks (past) • Receptive to diversification • Proximity to Sydney • Education improvements • Move away from commute to Sydney

Table Six

• In the past heavy industry has been strong • But .... have been heavily reliant on this heavy industry - has not helped with

employment diversity • Need a way to promote the skilled graduates from university / regions • Aged care, health industry growing in Illawarra • Despite the location to international visitors via Sydney Airport we don’t generate

tourism like the Gold Coast etc • Missing tourism facilities to encourage people to visit and stay. • Safe seat!

Table Seven

• Industrial base helped build the city - now need to diversify • Ports as a source of exports and imports– what is the potential going forward • Aged care as area potential given the overall health services etc • Schools / TAFE/ Uni as potential • Natural environment etc and amenity of the city • Relatively less costly than Sydney • ‘Shared Services’ mindset that businesses starting to access

What do you think needs to be in place for the region to be at its very best? Table One

• Good / reliable transport links especially to Sydney • Opportunity for people to engage especially regular community members • Need to act on things - strong leadership, bravery. • Get the three councils plus university, Bluescope etc to work together/collaborate • Need fast broadband • Sophisticated tourism sector



• Infrastructure – roads, schools etc • Iconic building • Still have lots of agricultural land opportunity to expand • Region can be too inwardly focused - need to look internationally • Lose a lot of talent to Sydney. More entry-level jobs for graduates. • Venture Capital • Fix Track / more trains / express trains • Establish regional leaders group • Less ‘red tape’ for starting new business • Grow industries / service sectors • Collaborating between University and Industry • Better parking at University / CBD

Table Two • Good Leadership • Infrastructure - railway • More frequent train system • Internal connectivity • Wollongong become regional capital - replace Sydney, local hub, arts & community • Amazon put Pacific headquarters in Wollongong • Marketing of culture and lifestyle • More business friendly, attracting business • Less trade union dominated • Better mobile on trains / wi-fi on trains • Address closed shop, more outsider friendly • Breaking down barriers to business • Target youth unemployment • Too much welfare • Customer service dreadful

Table Three

• Plan to be implemented and agreement • Infrastructure – fast, safe, clean, regular, efficient • Transport • Tourist initiatives - Skyway connection to Mount Keira • Airport • More employment

a) business opportunities b) competitiveness

• Film studios • University of Wollongong graduates- need to be recognised as ambassadors • Discovering our assets

a) infrastructure b) people

• Mobilising for the Wollongong Community • Enhance Adaptive Capacity - pre-emptive planning

• Champion the people in our community



a) connections b) activate public intellectuals

• Look at the challenges as opportunities • Connecting • Who is Wollongong - Identity - our identity • Discovering what people care about

Table Four

• Change to workplace culture a) leadership b) innovation

• Regional leadership a) need common agenda b) more support for workers and workers rights

• Funding for leadership development in small to medium sized businesses • Funding for infrastructure

a) Port Kembla b) better connectivity to Sydney

• Branding a) shared services to attract businesses b) niche development c) perception of the region by others

Table Five

• Effective leadership • Strategy • Training • Emerging industries to step up • Better informed community • Leverage natural environment • Further diversification • Better sell of region to outsider

Table Six

• Good infrastructure plan • Missing a plan to bring more business to town • Need more diversity (business) steelworks plus university is not enough - need new

industries for non-tertiary educated youth • Need to build on the remaining industrial base in the region • Don’t have a single ‘technology’ / IT focus (city of innovation). Have all eggs in one

‘new’ basket could drive ideas away as they don’t fit the new mould. • Build more infrastructure - need to want to come to region - is easy to keep going to

Melbourne and Sydney • Improved transit to Sydney • Better local airport - more flights • More regional community involvement, very Wollongong city centric at the moment • Attract business to region, e.g., incentives



Table Seven • Job creation (have the jobs for those with qualifications) • Supporting long-term unemployed • Market Wollongong better as a location - including the ‘feel’ • Put the investment in the infrastructure to make it more attractive • Increase collaboration and partnerships to use the dollars available for social policies

- relook at the funding models to reduce the competition and small size of the grants • How to better utilise the technology etc • How can you use connection to Sydney and improve to build tourism- would a ferry

work?

wollongong record of consultation - · pdf file• good educational facilities / hospitals/...

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