A GLOBAL banking economist says Bendigo is leading the way in economic growth and development for regional cities.
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A low Australian dollar and low interest rates was creating favourable investment and interest in local retail, education and manufacturing businesses, said Tom Taylor, head of National Australia Bank’s international economics team.
Affordable property prices was another incentive for business growth.
“The regional economy is performing very well and that offers lots of lessons to other parts of the state,” Mr Taylor said. “It is a positive story for Bendigo, which is not the case for some regional cities. What is being done here to plan economic growth and development is being done well.”
The leading economist was in Bendigo to speak to 120 business leaders wanting insights to the global economy and to understand how regional industry played out on the world stage.
Mr Taylor said three strong points stood Bendigo in good stead and ahead of the regional economic pack.
“Diversification. Bendigo has a variety of industry, which helps if one sector is not performing well at a particular time,” he said.
“While it creates difficult decisions when balancing land rezoning for business, future industry and people living nearby, local authorities have a favourable attitude to business just the same.
“To create this success you need to have good systems in place for a planning process and Bendigo has that. In turn, Bendigo will benefit from jobs.
“And, thirdly, good housing prices and lack of congestion makes it an appealing choice for people; they want to live here.”
Receiving accolades from an international economist was good for the city, Bendigo CEO Craig Niemann said.
“It was good to have an independent view from outside to say we are doing well economically and in livability,” Mr Niemann said. “We have a great history built on gold and we have a modern diverse economy. It was a positive that he saw real opportunity for investment and growth here.”
While there were advantages, Mr Taylor said there were also challenges for local government and businesses. Maintaining pressure on the state government for a quicker railway system between the city and Melbourne was highly important, he said.
“And when it grows it needs to not lose what it is good about it - its heritage and urban landscape - otherwise it will diminish why people came here in the first place,” he said. “Think to keep residents in the conversation when it comes to planning. The success of a city depends on the social and economic well-being of its people and you don’t want anyone being left behind.”