next 10 to 30 years to ensure we can sustain

the growth,” Mr Joyce said.

A steering committee has been established in

each Local Government Area to assist in the

development of the strategies. After a draft

strategy is developed public workshops will be

conducted for the total community to have

input into the strategies.

For further information, contact Stephen

Joyce on 6962 8100.

Creating a strategy for economic development and

water-saving initiatives will be the key focus for the

Strengthening Riverina Irrigation Communities

project as it moves into its next stage. With the

Councils of Carrathool, Griffith City, Leeton,

Murrumbidgee and Narrandera working

collaboratively on this project it is expected that

benefits will be seen across the whole region.

The project, which is part of the Federal

Government’s “Water for the Future” program, has

already proven to be quite successful in gathering

important information about the state of the region.

“The first stages of the project have focused on

where have we been and where are we now in

regards to the economic status of the region and

this, along with some scenario planning, has

enabled us to get a better feeling for where we

should be heading in the future,” said Stephen

Joyce, Project Manager for the Strengthening

Riverina Irrigation Communities Project.

“This next stage will allow communities to be

actively involved in the development of strategies

and plans for their economic futures through a

series of workshops.

“These strategies and plans will involve the

adaptation of water saving initiatives to ensure the

long-term viability of business and communities.”

While there is a focus on developing water saving

initiatives in regional communities, the project is

more about ensuring we will have sufficient water

in the future for sustainable business and

communities to continue to grow.

“As business and communities continue to grow,

so will their need for useable water and it is

imperative that we begin planning now for the

S T R E N G T H E N I N G R I V E R I N A C O MM U N I T I E S

A W O R D F R O M T H E C H A I R P E R S O N

The tide is starting to shift. Business confidence

is starting to improve with local business seeing

an increase in consumerism, which has been

sporadic during the past few months.

While buyers are still cautious, it’s hoped that a

high yielding rice and cotton crop will soon see

more money injected into the local economy.

Whilst the rest of the world struggles with

the hangover of the global financial crises,

Australia and Griffith are in a strong

position to be able to make its mark on a

domestic and international front.

In keeping with this theme, our team

wanted to keep you up to date on a number of

projects and to invite you to be part of our

consultation process.

Cr Dominic Testoni

Deputy Mayor and Chairperson of the

Economic Development Steering

Committee

GRIFFITH CITY COUNCIL

M A R C H 2 0 1 1

V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 2

G R I F F I T H C I T Y

C O U N C I L

Whilst you may have heard

about Community Profile

and Social Atlas id, the

applications for business to

be able to log onto Griffith

City Council’s website

(www.griffith.nsw.gov.au),

and slot the data into your

own reports are

phenomenal.

Log on, click on Developing

Griffith, then click on

Community information and

select the product you are

after. Community Profile id

provides you with a

summary of what makes up

our community, Social Atlas

allows you to pinpoint

where people live and the

Western Riverina id allows

you a broader scope of the

region. Our soon to be

released Forecast id allows

you to plan for our future

populations.

Find the data you need -

copy and paste the charts,

tables and maps and make

the data work for your

business.

I D . D A T A T H A T W O R K S F O R Y O U

Page 2 G R I F F I T H C I T Y C O U N C I L

It is an easy to use program which has

supporting information and

background. The data is collated in

such a way that you do not need to be

a statistician to decipher emerging

trends in our community.

The products allow you to be more

strategic with your advertising, direct

marketing and can add real value to

your business plan.

I invite you to log on and try it for

yourselves. If you would like to know

more about the products and how to

use them, call Nicola James on

69628 169, depending on interest we

may be able to arrange a training

session.

Council will host a five day tour

in June (13-19) to co-incide with

this year’s International

Economic and Trade Fair, one of

the largest foreign trade fairs in

the world.

The 22nd annual China Harbin

International Economic and

Trade Fair, which was first held

in 1990, attracts representatives

from more than 80 countries and

regions and is a significant

platform for exhibitors promoting

their business, economic, trade,

scientific and technological

enterprises.

Economic Development

Coordinator Nicola James said

the five-day tour offered a prime

opportunity to local businesses

wanting to expand to an

international market.

“It is also a great opportunity

for business, cultural and

sporting groups to network,

create new business partners

and links and to experience a

different culture,” she said.

The tour will cost approximately

$2000, with optional tours being

arranged at additional cost.

Council will hold an information

session at the Council Chambers

on Thursday 31 March at 6pm

for anyone interested in learning

more about this trip. To register

your interest please contact

Nicola on 69628 169 or

Nicola.james@griffith.nsw.gov.au.

our future workforce and to look

strategically about how we go

about recruiting for skills in the

future to sustain our workforce at

a regional level.

This data will also assist

council in attracting the right

Griffith City Council is

currently conducting a skills audit

of Industry and business in

Griffith.

This project will enable

Council in conjunction with

business and industry to plan for

people to the area when we

attend job expos.

If you would like to be

interviewed or are finding it

difficult to attract certain skilled

workers please let us know…

Phone Nicola James on

69628 169.

B U S I N E S S I N H A R B I N

S K I L L S A U D I T

N E W P R O D U C T S F O R T H E C O M M U N I T Y

products straight into your

document, whether you are

working in word, excel, publisher

or power point, said Nicola

James, Economic Development

Coordinator.

There are four main broad

questions which make up our

community with sub-questions

underneath.

You can benchmark the

information from the Griffith

community against the Riverina,

State and Australia to identify

current gaps in our market to

utilise for business brochures,

funding applications, annual

reports and for forecasting.

“Forecast id is a new product

which will be available in a few

weeks time. This product will be

an invaluable tool for predicting a

change in trends from now up

until 2030 and beyond,” said

Nicola.

The products can be

accessed via Griffith City

Council’s website. Log onto

www.griffith.nsw.gov.au and click

on Developing Griffith and

Community Information.

Ever wanted accurate and

specific data on our region and

found it difficult to access?

Well now you can with

Council investing in Community

Profile id, Social atlas id and

Forecast id.

The new software products

allow you to access data from

the last four census’ and to

analyse it via charts, graphs and

map (social atlas id).

“The best thing about the

products is that information can

be copied and pasted from the

Page 3 G R I F F I T H C I T Y C O U N C I L

id.id.id.id.

G R O W I N G G R I F F I T H

Page 4 G R I F F I T H C I T Y C O U N C I L

E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T T E A M

Stephen Joyce

Economic Development Manager

Griffith City Council

Project Manager

Strengthening Riverina Irrigation

Communities Project

T: (02) 6962 8174

M: 0439 726 716

F: (02) 6962 7161

Nicola James

Economic Development

Coordinator

Griffith City Council

T: (02) 6962 8169

M: 0419 445 748

F: (02) 6962 7161

Griffith City Council’s Economic

Development team consists of

Stephen Joyce—Economic

Development Manager and

Nicola James—Economic

Development Coordinator.

Please feel free to contact us on

the details provided below if you

wish to talk to us about your

future plans, we are only too

happy to set up an appointment.

Griffith’s future for the next 20

years is in the process of being

mapped out and members of the

local community can have their

say on what their future will look

like.

Growing Griffith 2030, is a

detailed community strategic

plan which is designed to

develop this city in a sustainable

manner.

The document sets out the

Griffith community’s plans to

expand and develop amenities,

infrastructure, services,

environmental issues and social

services, and the strategies

needed to get there.

While Griffith City Council is

responsible for facilitating the

development of Growing Griffith

2030, it is not a Council only

document and, as such, requires

a large amount of input from the

local community.

Growing Griffith 2030 needs to

reflect the values and vision of

the Griffith community, not

Council, in order to be successful

as the City’s highest level

strategic document a community

reference panel will be formed to

help Council and staff decide the

priorities that should be included

in Growing Griffith 2030.

The community can become

involved in Growing Griffith 2030

via online survey and discussion,

shopping centre open days,

focus group meetings, a

community summit and feedback

boxes in Council facilities.

For more information in relation

to Growing Griffith 2030, please

contact Alison Balind Manager

Communications and Community

Development on 69628 100.