People, planet, place: shaping the Northern Rivers future

WHEN strategist Dom Thurbon took the stage, he asked the room to imagine London in 1901.

The city’s leaders were drawing up a 25-year plan and he wanted guesses on what filled their agenda.

Someone called out “the Germans.” Others offered politics and unrest. Nobody said the car.

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.

In opening the summit, Southern Cross University executive dean of business, law and arts Mike Ewing, speaking as the event’s presenting partner, set the tone with a nod to Depeche Mode’s “Get the Balance Right.”

He said the challenge for the Northern Rivers was exactly that, finding a balance between growth, community and environment.

 

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.

At Elements Byron on Friday, more than 180 leaders gathered to explore practical ways to balance those goals.

One attendee described it as “Aquarius with a name badge.”

Business NSW Northern Rivers regional director Jane Laverty said the region’s business leaders were “tuned into doing the right thing and doing things right” and must remain at the centre of transformation and create the future that is good for our region.

“At the heart of transformation are people,” she said.

“Northern Rivers businesses are transforming people, planet, place and really delivering important social impact to our region and our community.

 

“They 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.”

She said the summit was not about reacting to the next crisis but thinking decades ahead.

“We’re already thinking ahead,” she told the room.

“We’re all planting the trees for the shade we may never sit under, and we’re doing that for that next generation.”

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.

The theme of resilience ran through the day.

Southern Cross University pro vice chancellor Ben Roche described how the 2022 floods forced the university to scrap its plan and rebuild around community.

 

“We were born in Lismore and we will never leave Lismore,” he said.

Laverty recalled calling him during those first days after the weather event to ask if displaced businesses could use SCU space.

“He did not hesitate,” she said.

“He just said yes, we will give you a whole floor.”

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.

“The difference between an ordinary brain and an extraordinary brain is within all our reach,” he said.

“Brains are capable of rewiring themselves at any age. Courage and curiosity are not gifts. They are skills.”

 

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.

“What are the values you live by, and how do you hold behaviour accountable to them?” she asked.

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.

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.

“True luxury is protecting the land you occupy,” he said.

 

Laverty said the turnout showed the region’s values in action.

“We have a value in the Northern Rivers of doing the right thing and doing things right,” she said.

“The 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.”

Thurbon’s caution about missing the obvious hovered in the background. London’s 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.

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.