Federation Council has adopted the region’s first Economic Development Strategy following extensive engagement and collaboration with the community.
Federation Council General Manager Adrian Butler said the Economic Development Strategy 2021–2025 reflects the Federation region – diverse, innovative, forward thinking and full of exciting opportunities.
“The Federation region we all know, is full of opportunity, and our future in terms of economic prosperity looks bright,” he said.
“There is still plenty of work to do as we continue to diversify and evolve to ensure our region is best placed to attract investment and capitalise on economic growth opportunities, but the time is right to build on some great foundations.”
Within this strategy, Council has set a clear framework to strengthen local business, empower our community, leverage key industries and enhance economic diversity and resilience.
Mr Butler said Council will support the local economy by delivering a range of specific initiatives and actions to demonstrate economic leadership and instil confidence in the local market.
“Attracting investment not only provides a significant economic stimulus, it also attracts new technology and innovation and drives additional investment and job creation through supply chains,” he said.
“We see the region well placed to move forward and capitalise on new opportunities. We are confident of a sustainable economic future, and as a Council we are committed to act on the opportunities outlined throughout this strategy.”
The main aims of this strategy is to leverage local economic strengths, provide clear pathways for overcoming challenges, and take advantage of economic opportunities.
Federation Council has identified seven strategic themes to guide the delivery of this Economic Development Strategy that are as follows:
- Strengthening local business;
- Empowering our community;
- Leveraging key industries;
- Enhancing economic diversity and resilience;
- Boosting the visitor economy;
- Attracting investment; and
- Increasing skills and economic capacity.
Mr Butler said the Economic Development Strategy will now position the regional economy for future success and enable economic benefits to be realised by local residents, businesses, investors and visitors.
“We want the Strategy to be guided by the Community. Economic development is not about Council dictating what will happen; it is about collaborating with the community to come up with strategic objectives that we can all work towards together,” he said.
“The Strategy will ultimately provide clear and comprehensive strategic guidelines and tools for supporting the development of our economy across the entire local government area.”
