Local government urged to think smart to boost growth
See also: 2006 Regional Co-operation and Development Forum
November 27, 2006
A new report says Australia's local government areas could resemble California's Silicon Valley, given a boost to regional innovation.
The 158-page State of the Regions 2006-07 Report, released today, was commissioned by the Australian Local Government Association from top research body, National Economics. The report is sponsored by the Jardine Lloyd Thompson insurance group.
It says improving the capacity for innovation in regional Australia would enhance export opportunities and bring better paid and more highly skilled employment.
The 2006-07 study builds on the State of the Regions 2005-06 report, which identified communications infrastructure as a key driver of economic growth.
Communications infrastructure enabled the intensification of the networked economy because it was the pathway for linking customers and firms in increasingly integrated supply chains.
National Economics points out that a high quality infrastructure is particularly important in Australia because the nation's regional industrial bases are often at great distances from each other.
It cites the Business Continuity Centre in Bendigo as an example of the capacity of innovation to create new opportunities. The Centre flowed out of a community telco in the Victorian city but it was not envisaged when the telco was set up.
The Business Community Centre is the first building in a new regional development, the Central Victorian Innovation Park.
The centre provides business continuity services in the form of offsite data storage and recovery.
The report also looks to the United States model where improvements to telecommunications drove the opportunity for innovation. This resulted in levels of prosperity across several small regions, notably Silicon Valley.
National Economics predicts that by applying such innovation, Australian small business entrepreneurs could completely change the scope of business in their regions. However the research think-tank cautions that sources of venture capital must be available for such enterprises to be successful.
» 2006-07 State of the Regions report
- Contact
- Amanda Lynch, Director, ALGA Public Affairs - 0419 123 862
- Michael Spencer, National Economics - 0419 123862
