economic sustainability

 

AFTERNOON SESSION

ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY

 

 

People in the group include Landholders, local government, aged care, university students, teachers

 

 

·       The questionnaire discussed

·       Region strengths / weaknesses

•  Ag resource sector very strong – but group adds that there is a lack of effective use of resources. Water supply less than optimal – opportunity to improve the water system – poor health of the land. Landscape is operating below its potential . Education in resource management is 1950s thinking needs to be changed into sustainability based education.
  
• We are different to Tamworth. Must not chase the successes of Tamworth for example. High transport costs here.
  
•  Chiswick is at risk/winding down. Opportunity to do (agricultural) sustainability research.
  
•  The potential in sustainability education is also a strength of the region? On the negative side over-reliance on education is a weakness. Distance education is huge and growing. Too much resting on laurels of UNE. Lack of alternative enterprise.
  
•  Reliable and plentiful water supply – attract businesses in the future
  
• Carbon trading. Farmers are being portrayed as rapists and pillagers of the atmosphere but many are long-term tree-planters/responsible stewards that are not being recognised in the proposed carbon marker systems
  
•  Short-term economic gains (‘selling’ water, coal mining) can be uneconomic in the longer term. Resisting and choosing futures carefully is not anti-development.
  
•  Government support, such as CSIRO and public education is no longer reliable. Need other initiatives/regional partnerships/RCS etc
  
•  Research is prohibitively expensive and risky
  
• Costs are rising generally
  
• Farmers are improving the sharing of IP. Landcare has helped
  
• Import replacement opportunities need to be examined systematically
  
•  Vegetables and wine are taking off in this region. Wine-growing in Inverell for over 150 years (pioneer industry)
  
•  Processing is all done overseas and then its imported back
  
•  Local wool has always been processed overseas: England, Italy, China ...
  
• Research ends up on a dusty shelf. Sustainability innovators should be resourced e.g. Chiswick
  
•  Need scientifically based policy
  
• Profitability drivers now is providing the wrong signal to sustainable development
  
•  Eco-tourism opportunities are a strength of the region. Difficult to deal with National Parks. also difficult for private landholders to host visitors - risks, inappropriate visitor behaviour
  
• 
  
• strong community is the envy of all capital cities
  
• Transport is a big weakness
  
• small acreages  
  

KEY ECONOMIC STRENGTH

kids leave but they return for the lifestyle

KEY ECONOMIC WEAKNESS

transport

government policy

35-40 year olds are leaving with their children

not enough range of education/employment opportunities

WHAT WILL A SUSTAINABLE NEW ENGLAND LOOK LIKE?

diversification of industry based on value-adding

long-term policy on knowledge based industry - research informed

Culture

Strength

depth of creative

Creative minds, talents and expression

Cultural diversity

Cultural diversification

Recognised learning centre

Creative Industry

Lifestyle 

Weakness

Lack of inclusiveness

Seasonal changes

Creative industry examples

Old mole

Iron man welders

Eco burials

Actions

Re-educate community members to reduce consumerism

Cropping to climate

Passing on the knowledge of doing

Preserving for future consumption

That culture is considered in all our actions

How do we make sustainability a social conscious issue

Priorites

1. Map what we have and identify where we want to be Identify what is being used successfully and what hasn't

2. Identify creative initiatives

3. Develop social consciousness

Top Initiative

1. Link to an existing event of facility (e.g. Autum Festival, SLEX) to ensure culture is integrated into all our actions for sustainability

Maski Dusting, Kim hastings, Nickie murcsell, Celia Sexton, Noretta Terry, Lisa Harrison, Mick

global group musing

Ideas from the Global Group.

Sister city arrangement with a sustainable community - Woking - has developed its own power generation system.

Davis in California was suggested as a possibility - similar environmental interest groups in both.

Model Armidale as a city seeking to become sustainable and export the learning as we go through the process. Take this opportunity now.

Rebirth of coalition of environmental groups in Armidale.

Ageing of the population in Armidale is potentially both a strength and an opportunity - provide support and services/growth industry/facilitate ageing in place.

Cost of fuel - diesel as a product is artificially inflated.

Biodiesal was discussed, but there are issues associated with the conversion of food production to bio fuels - globally this is unsustainable and causes food shortages in other parts of the world.

Capacity to network with the CRCs for sustainability and relevant environmental CRCs.

Lack of investment in rail seen as being due to a strong transport lobby. Need greater investment in rail - better very fast train service - needs track upgrading. All the way to Brisbane? Overnight service to Sydney suits working people better.

Bus company - needs to provide better service which enables people to get to work efficiently. Mary Devine is working on these regions ... Regional transport coordinator.

Create global networks for sustainable living ... sister city idea is a good one.
Look overseas for good practice in energy descent planning - the Transition Town network provides some good examples.
Learn from other communities.

Global work communities ... e.g. women in a village in northern Ireland deal with all the medical records for Boston Hospital.

Shortage of low cost housing in Armidale. Population hasn't increased in number of houses, but occupany of households has gone form 4.6 to 2.3 - houses getting larger.

We are likely to have climate change refugees coming here - some local organisations place people here. Need to be able to provide for these people.  History has shown that services follow if the capital investment is made in bringing people here.

Idea of fostering global industry - encouraging the set up of supply industries overseas e.g.e for wind turbines or solar power. We could do the research and development here (link with UNE) and production abroad.

Promote Armidale on trade delegations as a sustainable place. Develop trade links with countries which produce what we need and swop with what we can supply.

Revitalise local food industries to reduce dependence on global imports.

Three Action Priorities

1.  Support existing initiatives which are learning from other international communities e.g. Sustainable Living Armidale/Transiition Towns/a sustainable sister city (e.g. Woking)

2.  Consolidate, grow and export our increasing knowledge about sustainability.

3.  Promote Armidale as striving to be a sustainable community - our brand should be as a thriving, sustainable community.

Process Page

I have added a page to the wiki which is essentially the document Ken talked to at Sunday's executive briefing. I have added links to internal pages as a way of categorising and presenting data on each part of the process. Many of the pages are not yet created and of course will be as the day progresses. The  idea is that this will focus the journalists on what to collect and be able to put any multimedia content into a process context.

There will be other pages created to group data in different ways as the need arises.

I suggest that Laszlo or Adam - if you want to see other pages created just go in and put in the links to pages as you wish and that will form a group. There is nothing to stop one piece of data from being referenced from a number of different pages - that will be part of my job to create a 'web' of information that will conform to various people's ways of thinking - well - its a nice rhetorical thought in any case.

Lindsay

testing the emailing to the groups

This is another test post to be removed

Drop down menus

Quick question. How can I modify these? I've added some new weblinks to the page (by copying and changing your code) however I can't find how to add them to the drop down menu.

adam

PS I have made note of Lindsay's updated structure for the Forum Emails. I want to get this right for the media release which I'll draft tomorrow.

adam

Forum Emails

Laszlo,

I just went to your page: http://ness.wikidot.com/join-the-forum-online and I don't think it will work the way you describe. You have been able to do it because you are (your email address is) an 'author' at the site already. To enable it the way you have described we would have to make every individual's email address an author - it is too big a task and administrative nightmare. The Forum emails were set up so that people could email each/any of the forums (which all come to the ness.executive email address as well). A live person who is an 'author' would then have to read the email and decide to put it up on the blog.

There is a maximum of 100 authors allowed on the blog

So the only way people can interact really is by sending emails to any of the forum addresses. i.e. ness.youth@gmail.com I have changed the details and the wording of the page to reflect that

However, I have also now setup the wiki so that people can join of their own accord. Certain pages can be "blocked" so that only administrators and moderators can change them.

This is a two part process that needs the administrator to approve an application. First a user must sign-up to wikidot and THEN apply to become a member of ness.wikidot.com.

Because there is no theoretical limit to the number of members allowed on the site and that Adam would prefer the wiki to be the point of contact, I think this is the preferrable way to go. The wiki then becomes the community.

and may need to be emphasised.

ON THE DAY, however, sending an email to the forums is the best way to ensure you get heard as there is no 'easy' way for the forums to be notified when a new posting has gone up. As an old boss of mine used to say - horses for courses!

Postings to the blog can be displayed in the wiki site via this page http://ness.wikidot.com/blog-update which can be reached from under the 'media' link.

Let me know what your thoughts are.

Lindsay

"All I ask of you is to remember me as loving you" (sufi saying)