SPIRIT OF ENTERPRISE IS ALIVE IN WAGGA WAGGA
The late Mr Richard Pratt, in a speech to the ‘Building Resilient Economies' Conference in Wagga Wagga in 2009, identified four principles that distinguish successful regional communities. To paraphrase his words, these are:
1. Self-belief, self-reliance, and no expectation
2. Team-work and collaboration
3. Foresight and strategic planning
4. A spirit of enterprise.
On Thursday evening, 28 October, the Business Advisory Committee hosted a group of Wagga Wagga's leading businesspeople, civic leaders and leaders from key sectors including education and health to hear how these principles could be translated into action in Wagga Wagga's community.
Mr Andrew MacLeod, Chief Executive Officer, Committee for Melbourne and Dr Doug Lloyd, Chief Executive Officer, Committee for Ballarat spoke and answered questions on how the so-called ‘Committees for' work so effectively towards the best interests of their cities and regions. There are eight ‘Committees for' around Australia and one in Auckland.
Judy Galloway, Executive Director, Sureway Employment and Training, has attended a meeting of the ‘Committees for'.
‘These committees are a force within the community which take ideas through to outcomes. They bring together the businesses in the community in a non-partisan way for the betterment of the whole community. Being liberated from populism by their structure and funding, they can take long term approaches to major issues and not be diverted or distracted by the electoral cycle of party politics' says Judy.
Founded 25 years ago, the Committee for Melbourne brings together Melbourne's most influential businesses and organisations to work collaboratively to enhance Melbourne - economically, socially and environmentally. The Committee is an apolitical organisation that looks strategically at issues that impact beyond the short term electoral cycles.
As Andrew Macleod says, the Committee model is based on three firm principles. It is:
• non-partisan
• long term and strategic in its approach
• for Melbourne's best interests and not for the benefit of individual members or their businesses.
The model works equally well in the major cities of Melbourne, Sydney and Perth as it does in regional centres such as Ballarat, Geelong and Portland. Critically, these committees are self-funded and so independent of government funding.
They work closely with all levels of government because their mutual interests often coincide. Importantly however, these committees can take a longer term and independent approach to government, and bring all the ‘can do' effectiveness and capabilities of the non-government sector to devising and implementing new and creative solutions to the challenges faced by their communities.
‘We can make a decision in the morning and implement it by the afternoon' says Doug Lloyd.
Both committees run leadership programs which have provided some of the most novel and creative ideas for their respective cities. One of the requirements of the program is for participants to think of an idea, and implement it including finding the funding for it. One such idea was for ‘portable parks', whereby vacant land awaiting development has a temporary park established on it, providing a real enhancement of the localities amenity.
Andrew and Doug outlined some of their committee's achievements. In its 25 years, the Committee for Melbourne has achieved much. In recent times for example:
• It initiated the idea of marketing Melbourne as a water front city with the Docklands as the central focus. The Committee invited Reg Ward, Chief Executive of the London Docklands Authority to assess the Melbourne docklands. This led to a joint venture with the Labor government to commission the ‘Recommendations to Government' document. The Committee was the initial driver of the Docklands development and appointed a Melbourne Docklands Authority in 1990.
• It established Melbourne Open House, a not-for-profit incorporated association whose committee has run annual events over the last two years providing the public a free-of-charge and rare opportunity to discover the often hidden wealth of architectural, engineering and historic buildings nestled around the city and associated program.
• It pushed to create more efficient links between existing freeways. The City Link project was financed and overseen by a Committee-led initiative: Infrastructure Bonds
The Committee for Ballarat in its much shorter 5 year life has also recorded a number of significant achievements. For example, it has:
• In its first year of operation in 2005, initiated the Goldfields Superpipe which averted the immediate threat to Ballarat's water supply.
• Played a key role in securing funding of $265 million for the Deer Park Bypass, in partnership with the Western Highway Action Committee and City of Ballarat. The Committee for Ballarat was acknowledged by the Federal Government for its role in securing the funds.
• Taken action on Lake Wendouree, an icon in Ballarat which together with its foreshore and associated facilities, provides a very important public open space and a significant recreational, social, environmental and aesthetic asset for residents. The task team implemented the Lake Blitz initiative and marketing campaign to raise the awareness and profile of the master plan and secure funding. The funds raised by Lake Blitz were used to rejuvenate visitor facilities, support the gradual replacement of the treescape, protect the environmental value, improve the quality of passive recreational pursuits and improve the linkages between the various attractions within the precinct. The precinct is a major point of difference between Ballarat and many other Australian cities.
Many people who attended the evening and heard the speakers and discussion that took place are motivated to explore the possibilities for a ‘Committee for Wagga Wagga', and so to harness Wagga Wagga's ‘spirit of enterprise'. Imagine the possibilities!
