The Economy Drivers of our Region

It is incredible to think of the vast impact that the South West dairy industry has. Approximately 22% of all milk produced within Australia comes from this region. Not only is dairy a major employer in the region, it is estimated that the industry directly injects $775 million back into the community.

Key facts to consider from the Great South Coast dairy industry:
• 1171 dairy farms
• 2 billion litres of milk produced annually
• Directly creates just under 10,000 jobs
• $969,000,000 value of milk leaving farms

How has COVID19 effected the dairy industry at present? According to Dairy Australia, the industry has seen a significant increase in the sales of dairy products, not just long life milk but cheese, fresh milk and butter. It makes sense who wouldn’t want a nice cheese platter whilst saying at home! I am thinking other industries which produce wine and sundried tomatoes have seen increased sales also!

Population is another major driver in the economy of a region. Which is why the retention and attraction of people to the Great South Coast is so important.

Future population forecasting predicts Australia has a decade of economic and population growth and this region has the potential to attract more investment and population. Early predictions on population trends within the region, show the population decreasing in the peak work/spending areas of 25 to 45 due to economic effects of COVID-19.

In light of COVID-19 and all the learnings surrounding social distancing, the trend of people living in larger metropolitan areas may be reversed and now is the time to be promoting this region.

From the slower pace of living, affordable housing, excellent education opportunities, space to live and explore.

We need to be bold in telling the story of our region. Not humble.

From inspired to educated and informed, the program day will once again have a positive impact on the participant’s leadership journey and will leave them with a greater understanding of the economy drivers within this incredible region of the Great South Coast.

Kara Winderlich, 2020 Participant

Making decisions today that leave us better off in the future

We’ve heard the term ‘flattening the curve” so much in the past couple of months, but I don’t think I truly understood what it meant until we were achieving it. Now taking what we’ve learnt from the COVID-19 experiences and applying it to climate projections, we can see there is still a long way to go before we start to flatten the curve for our environment.

It could be something as simple as knowing what is supposed to go into your recycle bins or developing an awareness of those “essentials” you buy from day to day. As we saw from Sally Jensen who is leading the way down in the Glenelg Shire, there are still a lot of people who don’t know how to properly use their waste system, and there are still many inconsistencies in the waste systems from shire to shire in the region.

It has been well reported around the world lately that there has been a real positive impact since we have been under restrictions, rivers flowing clear, city smog lifting, animals thriving. But I guess the big questions will be:

• Are any of these benefits going to be long term?
• Have enough of us learnt from this experience?
• If not, how quickly will it go back to the way it was?

In order to practice this long term positive change, along with most wide-spread adaptation, there are a few things we need to know. 1) Is it proven that it works? 2) Is my attitude that I want to change? 3) Do I have the capacity to make the changes?

A great example of this adaptation that we saw today was outlined by Mark Wootton from Jigsaw farms who proves that changes can be made to commercial farming operations that benefit both the environment and the business.

Only having one or two of these points is not enough, we need all three for the change to happen.

Starting off can be difficult especially when you can not see the bigger picture, and in the short term the impact might seem like more harm than good, but in the long run the benefits are more valuable and can help create a better future for everyone.

Troy Lovett LGSC Particpant 2020,
27 April 2020

Plan For The Best

“I need this done today!” We’re all tasked, or task others with projects every day. But what’s our plan? How are we getting there? Effective project management, particularly of larger scale projects relies on careful, thoughtful planning.

Our poll of eighteen budding project managers showed their top three concerns for disruption on projects currently underway, are resource management (people and things), communication (again people but also the physical constraints of the current COVID-19 crisis) and scope creep of projects. These concerns are no different to those often encountered in the professional world, with polls on the topic usually highlighting the same concerns.

Therefore for a project to be delivered in an economic, timely and successful manner, it is arguably more important to place emphasis on the planning of team members strengths and weaknesses as it is on the planning of budget and time constraints.

Experienced project managers say the 80/20 rule applies. Eighty percent of your woes result from failings in the twenty percent planning phase. Whatever your project, take time to make a plan and consider that the effective management of team members abilities will positively impact financial and time constraints.

Dom Conheady
2020 Participant

Playing the Game – Media Management

Effective media management in a 24/7 news cycle is a leadership skill! Post our recent Program Day I reflected, what is the deal with social media……it’s like a game of cards – you’re either in or you’re either out!

Who do I need to follow and on what social media platform should I be engaging on – Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter and then there’s group chats!!

Navigating through and managing today’s media is a great skill many leader’s exhibit. The effective use of social media shows the world, how you want to be perceived. It talks to your brand.

Building and maintaining good relations with the media is essential for all leaders – it’s a win win, we need them as much as they need us.

Creating a brand and engaging with the community is key for consultation and will help in promoting projects and dispersing information to our key stakeholders and the community.

Social media provides us with an opportunity to engage with community and various demographics. It easily allows us to use different mediums and content to distribute information and to gain support.

“Don’t use social media to impress people; use it to impact people.” – Dave Willis.org

Craig Kelson, 2020 Participant