kate sutcliffe, naedf online presentation to savannah symposium 2009

Pathway to Possibilities: North Australia Economic Development Forum 2008

Kate Sutcliffe, NAEDF OnlinePresentation to Savannah Symposium 2009

NAEDF History

Katherine 2000 Cairns 2006 Cairns 2008 Next?

NAEDF 2008 Themes

Sustainable economic development environment of northern Australia

Industries of tropical Australia Carbon trading and conservation in business Indigenous business enterprises

Key NAEDF 08 messages- Sustainable Development

Reform of governance across regional Australia – regionalise policy development and decision making

Enhance community engagement Develop greater subsidiarity – policy decisions made

where the money is to be spent Investment agenda Tax incentives, small business support Infrastructure priorities

Key NAEDF 08 Messages – Tropical industries

Establish regional tropical knowledge centres/hubs & collaboration

Focus on impacts of climate change Investment strategies and requirements –

infrastructure Infrastructure planning

Vision And Mission Statement

Vision: To grow the Tropical Economy of Australia

Mission Statement:TropLinks will maximise the capacity to develop, commercialise and export Tropical

Expertise (science, knowledge and innovation) in:

Tropical Environmental Services Tropical Agriculture Tropical Health Tropical Living (including built environment, education, tourism, services to mining) www.troplinks.com info@troplinks.com Contact: Graham Poon, CEO – Mobile: 0448-951454

Key NAEDF 08 Messages – carbon trading & conservation in business

Coordinate strategic intelligence – vision for the future Grow networks and clusters of learning and research Invest in appropriate collaborative models Regular workshops on e.g. ecosystem services

Key NAEDF 2008 Messages – indigenous business enterprises

Refocus government attention from disadvantage to investment in indigenous business and on enabling livelihoods across the north

Development of a settlement network that guarantees safety, security and services

Provide an investment strategy for the next 20-50 years and new approaches to capital investment in outback Australia

Effective governance rather than treating it as a collection of state backyards

Position indigenous business investment within a regional development context and assist those regions where markets are weakest and people most marginalised

SUMMARY NAEDF 2008 Key Issues

Governance: Marginalisation of the northern economy and communities and the consequences

Positioning NA - Challenges of tropical knowledge opportunities and climate change impact

Decision making: Funding & Infrastructure priorities Applicability of government programs and policies Remote and regional demographics and skills, resources

and leadership Constraints – water, land, infrastructure, regulations

NAEDF 2008 Summary of Actions

Urgent: review and reform governance and public administration

Urgent: develop a shared vision for targetted investment and development

Develop appropriate policy and institutional settings to enable local engagement in decision making

Build capacity and regional capability to support local leadership

NEADF 2008 Summary of Actions (Cont.)

Prioritise infrastructure to facilitate and stimulate growth

Review government programs and regulations to increase flexibility

Develop and capitalise on tropical innovation and knowledge

Create a settlement network that guarantees security and investment strategies

Need for change

Broad spectrum issues: Governance – decentralisation of policy development and

decision making Fiscal reform Community and social – tackle community marginalisation;

build local capacity and ownership and responsibility for future development

Collaboration E-W; community - governments Political – recognition of the real potential and value of the

north – RDA; ONA

Governance Delivery - Overarching Political Partnership

What We Want In 3 – 5 Years

Partnership model to provide: Improved governance and fiscal reform Decentralisation and local leadership development Based on coordination and collaboration Across the board engagement and participation –

avoid silos Regionally specific and manageable funding programs Equity: fiscal reform to include return to regions of

royalties from resource exploitation

Proposal for 2010

Conference/forum in Darwin involving Local government and community RDA ONA State & Territory governments Australian Government Universities, CRCs ? TropLinks Desert Knowledge Australia NAEDF Regional Development Practitioners Network

Contact

Kate Sutcliffeinfo@naedf.comhttp://naedf.com/

Mobile: 0428 122 846