REPORT TO

THE REGION RDA-South West

Welcome

Welcome to the latest

update about the work

being done by

Regional Development

Australia in the South

West.

The Australian

Government tasks

RDAs to report on

activities in relation to

the RDA Charter and

agreed working

agenda which is

endorsed both by local

representatives and by

the Commonwealth.

RDA Board 2019-20

Led by Chairman,

Scott Robinson, the

RDA Board comprises:

Bernice Butlion

(Treasurer)

Posy Barnes

Dr Jack Carlsen

Dr Robyn Morris

Claire Savage

Charles Jenkinson (ex-officio)

See page 4 – community call for EOIs

Looking back, looking forward It’s that time of year when we put together

both annual reports on the year we’ve had

and look ahead with a Business Plan for the

year to come.

Highlights have been: cracking $20.6m for

Building Better Regions Fund projects worth

more than $66m; completion of the NBN

Advisor initiative which saw a record take-up of

the new technology among SW residents; the

announcement of Bunbury Outer Ring Road

which RDA had been involved with for nearly a

decade; and support for a China Film

delegation which is resulting in plans for a

movie to be shot in the South West next year.

Continuing to look to new horizons, activities

are more evolutionary than revolutionary with

previous work informing the future.

Work begun in investment attraction will

continue with RDASW and the South West

Development Commission each pooling cash

contributions to fund a suite of materials to

provide information to potential investors. This

work will link in with the region’s specific

regions, sub-regions and industry sectors.

Economic modelling will support the effort with

the provision of targeted profiles. That work is

already under way.

RDASW has a special interest in the timber

industry. It’s our natural advantage and the

ultimate sustainable building product.

Linking that with our Tasmanian partnership,

RDASW plans to fund a far-reaching industry

trip to see where links can be forged with

Tasmania’s industry experts can connect and

share knowledge.

RDASW will also continue to support all those

sectors and people who work to increase trade

and create jobs in our region.

Charles Jenkinson,

Director of Regional Development

this issue

Fiona joins RDASW P2

Reefs boost for bay P3

Community call P4

I S S U E

2 0 1 9

06

Assistant Minister for Regional Development Nola Marino

and RDASW Chair Scott Robinson.

RDA-South West is now offering economic

modelling services to provide regional data

to support public and private sector projects.

Anyone who wants to fully understand their

community, run impact scenarios should

contact remplan@rdasouthwest.com.au

for a confidential chat in the first instance.

While RDASW can be contracted for in-depth

economic and community data, there remains a

wealth of public data that can be accessed at no

cost. Data is provided in two areas – economic

and community.

Fiona Fitzgerald has joined

RDA-South West with primary

responsibility for economic

modelling.

Fiona returned to the South West

15 years ago after growing up in

Bunbury and has a number of

business interests with her

husband.

RDASW Director of Regional

Development Charles Jenkinson

said: “It’s been a coup to recruit

someone of Fiona’s calibre. She

understands business,

economics and has an MBA

which we’re putting to good use.”

Fiona has been delving ever

CREATIVE

CORNER

Cabin Fever Festival

Under the umbrella of the

South West’s Creative

Corner, Cabin Fever is

Australia’s newest winter

festival.

It boasts epic locations,

regional produce, events

and “wintry goodness” so

put a hold on hibernation

and get down to the

Margaret River region from

July 19-28 for as much

quality wine, seam-splitting

comfort food, fireside brews

and general good times as

your body can handle.

RDASW supported the

organisers and funded a trip

to Tasmania to learn how

the renowned Dark Mofo

event pulls in the crowds on

the Apple Isle so that might

help shape the future, but

for now visitors will just

have to settle for winter

feasts, rich wines, live

music and a wilderness that

grows from the inside out.

There’s the promise of

more than 20 unique

gourmet food events

throughout the Capes. For

tickets visit

https://www.cabinfeverfest.c

om.au/events/

West Australian Guitar Festival

Adding to the litany of

events that sets the SW

apart, Strings Attached is a

celebration of players,

makers and collectors;

lovers of guitars, basses,

ukuleles, mandolins, banjos

and more this October. See

https://www.stringsattachedf

estival.com.au/

deeper, learning more about

the capabilities of economic

software modelling and its

ability to support business

cases in funding applications.

She said: “The program we

work with is so powerful and

can provide a wealth of

information but it’s only as

good as the information you

put in so anyone needing help

needs to provide a fair bit of

data for me to work with.”

The software can be accessed

publicly through

www.rdasouthwest.com.au but

for more detailed reports

RDASW would need to be

contacted via

projects@rdasouthwest.com.au

Renewed focus on

economic modelling

in the South West

REMPLAN – quality data at your fingertips

GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS …

A fundamental part of the reef proposal was that modules

should be built locally. Contracted reef specialists, Subcon

Technologies took this on board and engaged with Busselton

Cement Products which cast the modules. Capel Crane Hire

provided the muscle for loading the units.

Bay reefs boost

in marine first

BUT WAIT … THERE’S MORE

SW reef seeding

innovation

Dolphin Discovery Centre

(DDC) aquarists are

working on coral ‘frags’.

These fragmented corals

will be attached to reef

modules to give them a

headstart in colonising the

introduced structures.

Divers have been

collecting damaged corals

and transporting them to

DDC where they are

grown in tanks and

prepared for seeding the

reef modules.

The holistic marine

environment that is being

created will be studied in a

project funded by the

State Government and will

add to our body of

knowledge. In the

meantime, the

Commonwealth will also

fund a display at the DDC

… and watch out for the

launch splash!

Picture: Frags growing

under blue light to mimic

conditions at the reef site.

Artificial reef structures in

Geographe Bay have been

augmented by additional

modules seeking to create

a more diverse marine

community.

Recfishwest funded two reefs

in 2013, one off Bunbury that

features 30 ten-tonne modules

that attract pelagic species to

what is otherwise a featureless

area of the seabed.

Tasked by Member for Forrest,

Nola Marino MP (left), Regional

Development Australia-South

West worked through the

Investing in Your Local Parks

and Environment program to

secure $300,000 and add more

modules.

The existing structures stand at

about 3m tall in clusters on a

10,000m2 site. The new

modules are less than half the

size but will add another 90

individual modules.

The new units will feature

designs that allow for smaller

demersal fish species to

escape from larger predators.

The project has the support

from the WA Department of

Primary Industries and

Regional Development, linking

support from Member for

Bunbury, Don Punch.

RDA Chair Scott Robinson

commented: “This project very

nearly didn’t happen at all. We

pushed through a multitude of

hurdles and couldn’t have done

it without the patience and

collaboration of everyone

involved. This is a genuine

success story for partnership

work.”

Existing 10-tonne artificial reef structures have been augmented by another 90 reef modules which will attract

more species and add marine diversity in Geographe Bay.

Procurement: it’s just got to be local

Community call-out for EOIs

RDA-South West is now actively seeking new committee members.

EOIs are sought from those who are active contributors to the region,

and can think across the whole region and beyond to support local

jobs and regional growth.

Committee members are expected to leverage existing networks and

develop new linkages across industry sectors. RDA Committee

members are required to support the Chair to attract opportunities and

investment to their region. They must be knowledgeable about the

economic, social, cultural and environmental opportunities and

challenges facing their region; be well connected and a strong

advocate for the SW community; and draw stakeholders together to

build and drive economic growth.

If you can contribute as an effective member of the RDA Committee

toward a common goal or strategy which supports the economic

development of the region then visit www.rdasouthwest.com.au for an

application pack. EOIs close on July 29.

EC DEV 101

Future waves

A piece of work by

Deloitte Access

Economics, Positioning

for prosperity? Catching

the next wave predicts

the transition from

mining and oil to

tourism, gas,

agribusiness, education

and wealth

management. The

work is five years old

now but remains

relevant and an

accurate predictor of

what is shaping

economies. Run a

Google or YouTube

search.

Tech Times Issue 00 Month

Events/presentations

Connect Regional Innovation

Sports Planning forum with Don Punch MLA

Western Dairy Innovation Day

Regional Australia Institute Rising Regions

Consultancies/feedback

Blackwood Valley Wine Industry Association

Capel Shire Sports Spaces Plan

Bunbury Outer Ring Road Economic Advisory Group

Forest Products Commissions data collection

Minninup Pool, Collie

SW Aboriginal Medical Service

Engagement

AusIndustry

Austrade

Bunbury Business & Industry Liaison Group

Bunbury Development Committee

Bunbury-Geographe Economic Alliance

Bunbury-Geographe Strategic Plan

Busselton-Margaret River Airport

City of Busselton Economic Development Taskforce

CQU Busselton

Forest Industries Federation of WA

China Business Office

Creative Corner

FOCUS FOR 2019-20

Each year RDASW compiles

its to do list. Top of that for

the coming year is

investment attraction, an

important project being

shared with the South West

Development Commission.

Other work is:

■ a collaborative partnership

with RDA-Tasmania;

■ supporting the China

Business Office, creative

industries, timber sector,

tourism and business

generally;

■ working with the WA

Planning Commission, City

of Busselton and Shire of

Donnybrook-Balingup on

strategic plans;

■ Commonwealth funding

programs; and

■ supporting our Minister.

Your RDA touching bases

Dolphin Discovery Centre

Main Roads / BORR Team

Nola Marino MHR

Local Government – Bunbury, Busselton, Capel, Dardanup, Donnybrook, Harvey

Mick Murray MLA

RDA-Tasmania

South West Academy of Sport

South West Angels

South West Development Commission

South West Infrastructure Group

Dr Steve Thomas MLC

WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

www.rdasouthwest.com.au