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Advice on Publications Available.The Outback Regional Development Organisation Inc. is the only Regional Development Organisation that covers three States (the far west of New South Wales, almost a quarter of the State, south western Queensland and eastern South Australia).
This vast area includes a diversity of agricultural and horticultural industries:
The main population centre is Broken Hill, more than once Australia's economic saviour through mining, and now a vibrant example of a community reasserting its importance through a variety of opportunities, including tourism.
Mining is still very important. It will continue to grow as more and more opportunities are identified. Moomba, Ballera and Jackson are synonymous with gas and oil-rich deposits, contributing to the economic wealth of the nation.
The pristine waters of the Coober/Lake Eyre Basin demonstrate the fragility of the Australian landscape. In the past twelve months, Coober Creek has been the focal point of individuals and groups (including the Outback REDO) who have fought to protect this unique environment from unsound development.
The people in this region are energetic, forthright and independent. The social life and security afforded families in the smaller communities such as Tibooburra, Cockburn, Balranald and Wentworth, to name a few, will not be compromised by their inhabitants. They like the good, clean living and a safe environment.
Yet, these very people have recognised the need to work together and form alliances in order to protect that lifestyle from disintegration. They have also recognised that in order to protect this important lifestyle, their young people will need jobs.
These communities have recognised the need to identify new business development opportunities.
Like all other communities in Australia, there are problems that need to be faced and resolved. The primary industry sector like many other sectors of the Australian economy has suffered an economic downturn over the past few years.
Declining commodity prices for beef and wool (the latter compounded by the wool stockpile accumulated by the Wool Commission in its efforts to place a floor in the market) along with the need to maintain loan repayments and pay increased production costs have resulted in reduced income streams for the farming sector.
Farms are no longer the major employers in the region. They have become husband and wife businesses. There is a movement towards amalgamating smaller farm properties to larger holdings with the influx of corporate structures which often have no association with the surrounding townships.
Townships that once served as the major commercial and social centres for the primary industry sector no longer play this role due to the changes in transport and communication technology.
The environmental impact caused by the degradation of the major river systems will ultimately impact on the economic structures of the rural communities unless these issues are addressed.
Regional communities have recognised that working together under a unified umbrella will provide the most practical means of addressing these problems.
The REDO structure fits regional communities' determination to work as a unified body.
The Outback Regional Development Organisation was formed, officially, only two weeks before the Federal (Australian) Government scrapped the Regional Development Program. It was also the first Regional Development Organisation to react by saying "We haven't come this far just to pull the plug on it now."
I do not believe we have suffered from the Federal Government decision. We have become more innovative and creative in meeting the challenge.
There was a grass-roots response that prompted the coming together of different communities and industries. The benefits from working together regionally and parochially has been the strength of regional development organisations.
Eight Regional Development Organisations (two from Western Australia, all of the South Australian REDOs, two from Victoria and our own) have formed the Australian Central Regional Development Organisation (ACRDO). Meeting once a month, the group works on issues that have broader consequences.
ACRDO has formed strong relations with private capital providers and is in the process of forming a private company to act as a broker between regional projects and private capital. The ACRDO company will provide the necessary vehicle to allow the private capital markets to invest and monitor regional projects.
The company is also forming an agreement with Australian Regional Development Ltd to create a regionally-based superannuation fund which will reinvest into the regions.
Attracting private capital to regional Australia
Infrastructure projects in regional Australia are being looked at seriously by private capital providers as a result of the establishment of this vehicle.
Single large projects (for example, a water resource project over $10m) as well as a clustering of many smaller projects into single investment propositions are now being sourced. The ACRDO members are in the process of collating projects together to form single investment propositions. "Clustering" of projects is seen as a major benefit for regional Australia.
As ACRDO develops stronger links with a variety of private capital providers, small to medium projects may be able to link into a number of sources of finance.
However, the problem of small business development and the opportunities to create a stronger employment base in the region has not been forgotten.
Our organisation is discussing with another REDO the possibility of establishing foundation funding. One of the programs that we would like to achieve is to enable young people to develop new business in the region. The program would be dependent on a proper business plan being compiled and the successful applicants undertaking management and marketing courses as part of the funding agreement.
The aim of this project is to enable young people to remain in the regional towns and to develop business enterprises to the stage where they are acceptable for banks. The criteria for funding is to diminish the risk factor often contingent with new business enterprises.
The foundation funds would also be aimed at research and development work and training programs.
Dealing with the short-fall in communications
By far the main issue of concern in outback and rural communities is the lack of communication infrastructure. When most metropolitan and major cities take the Internet for granted, many of the communities in the outback region do not have proper telephone lines. Many pastoral properties rely on power generators to supply the power for telephone and fax facilities. It is not uncommon for regional people to drive seven hours (each way) to attend meetings.
A "Communications Forum", sponsored by the Outback Regional Development Organisation Inc. was held on 29th April 1997 to address this problem. Representatives of the outback and rural communities and industry, as well as the main service providers in education and health, attended.
This forum established that the region needs to gain access to the global community and market place. It also identified that information about research and development programs needs to be accessible for interested parties so that growers can improve their competitiveness in the international market place.
Advanced education programs, links into training programs and "tele- medicine" facilities have also been identified as important reasons to upgrade telecommunications services.
Research and develop-ment; international partnerships; linking research, education and growers
We are in the preliminary stages of negotiating with overseas and Australian universities and research groups in order to conduct joint trials on plants showing strong commercial possibilities. The plants identified are those specifically aimed at the wide variety of soil and climatic conditions prevalent in our region.
Should this project succeed, other joint arrangements will be sought, particularly those in which research and development in arid and semi-arid plants can provide benefits to all collaborating parties.
Peterborough Horticultural Training Complex
Peterborough, South Australia, has just opened a Horticultural Training Complex under the auspices of the Spencer Institute of TAFE (Tertiary and Further Education). It is the first of a number of training centres that is being considered to train people in horticultural practices (such as the production of clean foods) and to carry out trials and contract work (as a means of establishing an income stream).
A Management Committee comprising Primary Industries South Australia, research and development institutions and growers is being formed. This will enable research, education and grower linkages to be fostered.
Peterborough is ideally located to carry out trials on arid and semi-arid plants, cut flowers, vegetables, etc. and the concept is currently in its trial period. So far the project is going better than anticipated and similar projects are being considered for Wentworth and Balranald, in the immediate future.
It is envisaged that research and development groups trialling various crops and plants may wish to consider extending their research programs further and thus may be enticed to look favourably on our area.
This contribution covers a small part of the programs under consideration or in progress. It does give a good indication of the direction we are taking to increase grass roots investment and facilitate further development.
We would be delighted to hear from any new crop entrepreneurs and developers who can see a mutual benefit from collaboration with us.
Any claims made by authors in the Australian New Crops Newsletter are presented by the Editors in good faith. Readers would be wise to critically examine the circumstances associated with any claims to determine the applicability of such claims to their specific set of circumstances. This material can be reproduced, with the provision that the source and the author (or editors, if applicable) are acknowledged and the use is for information or educational purposes. Contact with the original author is probably wise since the material may require updating or amendment if used in other publications. Material sourced from the Australian New Crops Newsletter cannot be used out of context or for commercial purposes not related to its original purpose in the newsletter
Contact: Dr Rob Fletcher, School of Land and Food, The University of Queensland Gatton College, 4345; Telephone: 07 5460 1311 or 07 5460 1301; Facsimile: 07 5460 1112; International facsimile: 61 7 5460 1112; Email:
r.fletcher@mailbox.uq.edu.au[
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GK; latest update 6 June 1999 by: RF