Local leaders champion the regions

THE city’s latest cohort of Future Shapers within the Committee for Ballarat’s 2022 community leadership program visited Canberra earlier this month.

Attending the Regional Australia Institute’s two-day Regions Rising National Summit, the 18 participants had the opportunity to network with leaders from across the country, and hear from members of parliament, corporate and small businesspeople championing life in the regions.

Pinarc Disability Support manager of therapy, education and support services Elin McPadden is one of 2022’s Future Shapers who said she was proud to represent the Ballarat area in the ACT.

“It’s an opportunity to raise my head up, and look at planning for the future, so it was great to be in Canberra within a crowd of people from very different walks of life, who are all looking at how they can make improvements to their local area,” she said.

“The summit was all about empowering the regions to stand up and do things for themselves.

“It was so interesting to hear so many different people talking about the resilience of our regions, how we want to be heard in the regions, but how much power we do have regionally.”

Central Highlands Water’s Health Baker has participated in the leadership program as a technical specialist in asset strategy, and he said the summit emphasised the power of collaboration.

“Working together within regional areas can start to rebalance how infrastructure and better spending is undertaken,” he said.

“Regional areas of Australia tend to generate most of the GDP for the country, yet probably end up with less off the investment, so the biggest take-home for me from the summit is to think about what the best techniques are to get that balance right.

“Post COVID, we’re seeing more people move here, so how do we make sure they’re not just surviving but thriving?”

The Future Shapers group also visited Parliament House, going on a tour led by education staff to gain an understanding of how it operates, how legislation passes, and how everyday people can have a productive say, even if they’re not in the House of Representatives or the Senate.

Over recent months, Future Shapers participants have been developing their own community projects in small teams to address local issues or opportunities.

Projects produced are a Sleepbus for Ballarat, an Urban Farm to tackle food security, a sports participation pilot for children, and corporate social responsibility help for organisations.

Ms McPadden said Future Shapers’ “passionate” program leaders Ellen Jackson and Adele Nairn have facilitated rich learning experiences driven by participants.

“We now know how we can take the next steps to be making changes in our own areas,” she said.

“We are so lucky in the Central Highlands with the Committee for Ballarat, who have helped us grow and develop, and exposed us to the opportunities that are ahead.”