{"id":109551,"date":"2025-09-04T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T03:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/?p=109551"},"modified":"2025-09-05T08:49:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T22:49:17","slug":"people-planet-place-shaping-the-northern-rivers-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/people-planet-place-shaping-the-northern-rivers-future\/","title":{"rendered":"People, planet, place: shaping the Northern Rivers future"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>WHEN strategist Dom Thurbon took the stage, he asked the room to imagine London in 1901.<\/p>\n<p>The city\u2019s leaders were drawing up a 25-year plan and he wanted guesses on what filled their agenda.<\/p>\n<p>Someone called out \u201cthe Germans.\u201d Others offered politics and unrest. Nobody said the car.<\/p>\n<p>Thurbon told the audience those planners worried about horses clogging streets and the telegraph splintering communication while a new technology was already arriving. His point was about blind spots and speed. Change can outrun habit.<\/p>\n<p>In opening the summit, Southern Cross University executive dean of business, law and arts Mike Ewing, speaking as the event\u2019s presenting partner, set the tone with a nod to Depeche Mode\u2019s \u201cGet the Balance Right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said the challenge for the Northern Rivers was exactly that, finding a balance between growth, community and environment.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_115940\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-115940\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-115940\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/09\/Print_DSCF1498_03183.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-115940\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Television presenter and adventurer Todd Sampson speaks at the Business Transformation Summit at Elements of Byron. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Northern Rivers Business Transformation: People, Planet, Place Summit picked up that warning and asked how the region can grow while looking after community and the environment.<\/p>\n<p>At Elements of Byron on Friday, more than 180 leaders gathered to explore practical ways to balance those goals.<\/p>\n<p>One attendee described it as \u201cAquarius with a name badge.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Business NSW Northern Rivers regional director Jane Laverty said the region\u2019s business leaders were \u201ctuned into doing the right thing and doing things right\u201d and must remain at the centre of transformation and create the future that is good for our region.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the heart of transformation are people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNorthern Rivers businesses are transforming people, planet, place and really delivering important social impact to our region and our community.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_115941\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-115941\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-115941\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/09\/Print_DSCF0580_03178.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-115941\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Strategist Dom Thurbon opens the Business Transformation Summit at Elements of Byron. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey are building inclusive workplaces, they are investing in the wellbeing of our community, and they are proving when people and place are cared for, and we are connected to that, we have businesses that thrive with purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She said the summit was not about reacting to the next crisis but thinking decades ahead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re already thinking ahead,\u201d she told the room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re all planting the trees for the shade we may never sit under, and we\u2019re doing that for that next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She said the Northern Rivers was in a decisive decade and needed to be on the front foot. Transformation in regional areas, she said, was not only about keeping pace with global change but about shaping it to the character and strengths of local communities.<\/p>\n<p>The theme of resilience ran through the day.<\/p>\n<p>Southern Cross University pro vice chancellor Ben Roche described how the 2022 floods forced the university to scrap its plan and rebuild around community.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_115942\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-115942\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-115942\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/09\/Print_DSCF0903_03061.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-115942\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Attendees take part in discussions during the event at Elements of Byron.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were born in Lismore and we will never leave Lismore,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Laverty recalled calling him during those first days after the weather event to ask if displaced businesses could use SCU space.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe did not hesitate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe just said yes, we will give you a whole floor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Television presenter and adventurer Todd Sampson argued that adaptation begins at the level of the person. He spoke about training to walk a wire 21 storeys above the ground and tearing muscles in the process.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe difference between an ordinary brain and an extraordinary brain is within all our reach,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrains are capable of rewiring themselves at any age. Courage and curiosity are not gifts. They are skills.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_115943\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-115943\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-115943\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/09\/Print_DSCF1399_03105.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-115943\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">More than 180 leaders attended the Business Transformation Summit at Elements of Byron. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Emma Herd, sustainability consultant and EY partner, brought the focus to governance and accountability. She told the summit that 88 per cent of global investors now use ESG information in decisions and regulators are targeting greenwashing. Mandatory climate reporting will soon apply in Australia, she said, making credible data and systems essential.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are the values you live by, and how do you hold behaviour accountable to them?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n<p>Bundjalung woman, chef and local business leader Mindy Woods urged leaders to act as custodians of Country, linking the health of business to the health of community. Sophie Cruickshank, sustainability lead at Essential Energy, spoke about preparing the electricity network for climate extremes, from fireproof poles to community batteries.<\/p>\n<p>Elements of Byron general manager Michael Skinner gave a local case study, saying the resort had built sustainability into its operations from the start. More than 200,000 native plants have been added across the site, most of the land left untouched, and a large solar and battery system installed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrue luxury is protecting the land you occupy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_115944\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-115944\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-115944\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/09\/Web_DSCF2104_03077.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-115944\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Leaders gather at Elements of Byron for the Business Transformation Summit. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Laverty said the turnout showed the region\u2019s values in action.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have a value in the Northern Rivers of doing the right thing and doing things right,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe choices we make today determine whether our region competes from the margins or leads with innovation, collaboration and a deep connection to people, planet and place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thurbon\u2019s caution about missing the obvious hovered in the background. London\u2019s leaders worried about manure and telegraphs while motorcars rolled onto the streets. The lesson for the Northern Rivers was not to underestimate the pace of change or to lose sight of people and place in the rush.<\/p>\n<p>It was the kind of summit community members would hope business leaders attend. It put people, planet and place first and made the case that balance is the strategy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WHEN strategist Dom Thurbon took the stage, he asked the room to imagine London in 1901. The city\u2019s leaders were drawing up a 25-year plan and he wanted guesses on what filled their agenda. Someone called out \u201cthe Germans.\u201d Others offered politics and unrest. Nobody said the car. Thurbon told the audience those planners worried [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/people-planet-place-shaping-the-northern-rivers-future\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178,"featured_media":109552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-109551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>People, planet, place: shaping the Northern Rivers future - Ballina Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Leaders gathered at the Northern Rivers Business Transformation Summit to discuss how the region can grow while protecting people, planet, and place.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/people-planet-place-shaping-the-northern-rivers-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"People, planet, place: shaping the Northern Rivers future - 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