Community revival eases people’s pain.

Community revival is in everybody’s best interest.

As you travel around regional and remote Australia, you find a land of striking contrast in the community makeup. Some regions are prosperous, with lively main streets, beautifully maintained parks and clean streets.

Many other regions are not doing so well with paint flaking from once-busy shops, weeds growing on the footpaths, empty streets and abandoned houses. Isolation and loneliness are of great concern in regional and remote communities. Despite their contribution to Australia’s economic, tourism and cultural aspects, many are still being overlooked.

Such contrasts are not new and apply to many countries in the world. So, you must be realistic and accept that some regional areas will continue to grow and prosper, whereas others will not. The latter should be the exception, not the rule.

It would help if you were not aiming to create an Australia where declining communities are propped up and unsustainable. Instead, every community should be supported in its plans to manage change and seize the opportunities presented.

Free from the barriers that big city people don’t experience. Investigations have shown that big regional businesses are successfully managing the issues. Some multinational companies even have a policy to only locate in a regional area.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the wealth creators and job providers.

The growth potential for regional economies lies in small and medium enterprises becoming larger businesses. Some businesses, in the right environment, have the capacity to double or triple turnover in a short period of time. Despite a focus on exports and the need to compete globally, statistics indicate that regional businesses are not faring as well as metropolitan businesses when it comes to creating wealth and jobs.

We need governments to work with regional networks to effectively promote investment opportunities and lifestyle advantages, not against them. At the regional level, local leadership networks should take the primary responsibility for promoting their region. Many regional communities recognise this and have strategies designed to attract tourists and investment. Other regions need to follow this lead.

This is a significant challenge for governments at all levels. The lifestyle and livelihood of many regional business owners depend on government cooperation.

What is the answer to building a vibrant community?

New programs are needed to keep pace with the changing global marketplace. Communities and their leaders must become more agile and adaptable to the market forces driven by technology and the global economy.

It would help if you focused on growing good businesses and good people with growth potential. This means businesses, not-for-profits, local citizens, and governments working collaboratively for the common good. You cannot patent it, but you can put it in a jar, take it to any community, and guarantee results.

Why should you focus on small businesses and not-for-profits in your community?

Quotable quotes

“Your community will not be ruined by those who do little, but by those who watch them without doing anything”. Peter Sergeant

“Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community”. Anthony D’Angelo