What we heard from the community...

During stage 1 we engaged with the community and diverse stakeholders, including sole traders, small business owners, large businesses, start-ups, health services, agriculture, job seeker organisations, migrant workers, human services, wealth holders, service clubs, youth, elderly individuals, carers, local ecologists, environmental groups, construction companies, and government organisations..

Ten workshops and five interviews were delivered to build our understanding around the existing local economy.

We heard that priority issues are housing, the cost of living, childcare, transport, ageing well, mental health, disability access and inclusion, the need for young people to have a leading role in shaping the economy, racism, discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, and food security.

We also heard concerns about the health of the environment that will impact the economy like soil and waterway health and biodiversity.

We thank all workshop and interview participants - you can see examples of input below.