75. Reimagining Regional Growth

Fifty years after former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam’s short-lived attempts to foster decentralisation, this event, held in Albury, one of Whitlam’s flagship National Growth Centres, examines the prospects for future growth in regional Australia. With a diverse panel of regional leaders and experts, the discussion will canvas opportunities and risks confronting communities beyond the major cities and the priorities for contemporary government intervention. For the first time in four decades, Australia’s largest cities – Sydney and Melbourne – witnessed population loss last year, while many regional areas have experienced an influx of new residents. Some analysts view this shift as a temporary, pandemic driven phenomenon which has only exacerbated the regional housing crisis, but others see rich and dynamic opportunities for sustainable growth beyond metropolitan Australia. Fifty years after former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam’s short-lived attempts to foster decentralisation, this event, held in Albury, one of Whitlam’s flagship National Growth Centres, examines the prospects for future growth in regional Australia. With a diverse panel of regional leaders and experts, the discussion will canvas opportunities and risks confronting communities beyond the major cities and the priorities for contemporary government intervention.  The Henry Halloran Research Trust would like to acknowledge the support of the Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA) in hosting this panel event. Panel Aunty Edna Stewart, Wiradjuri Elder Andrew Boyd Barber, Urban Planner Dr Julie Rudner, La Trobe University Keynote address Nicole Gurran, Professor, Urban and Regional Planning, Director Henry Halloran Research Trust, the University of Sydney Chaired by Michael Keys, Regional Growth NSW Development Corporation