Ai Group joins alliance to boost prosperity in the regions

The Australian Industry Group has thrown its support behind an initiative that aims to help the regions reach their potential. 

Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox joined more than 30 CEOs from Australia’s most influential peak bodies in Canberra on Tuesday for the historic launch of the National Alliance for Regionalisation. 

Established by the Regional Australia Institute (RAI), the alliance is the first of its kind in Australia and spans business, health, education, infrastructure and environment. 

RAI CEO Liz Ritchie said: "It’s no secret regional kids are still behind their metro counterparts at school. Employers are struggling to get staff, yet migration levels are significantly lower in regions. Towns are crying out for doctors, but kids in the country are less likely to finish high school.  

“Despite these challenges, regional Australia remains the engine room of our national economy, but it’s not firing on all cylinders.” 

In September last year, the RAI launched the Regionalisation Ambition 2032, a 10-year framework that aims to help direct the actions of government, industry and the community towards achieving a greater proportion of Australians living prosperously in the regions by 2032 and beyond. 

The alliance will advocate for the policy priorities needed to realise the aims of this framework. 

“By viewing these critical issues through the collective lens of the alliance, we will progress solutions that have hampered growth in regional Australia for decades,” Ms Ritchie said. 

"The alliance will provide knowledge sharing and national leadership to ensure the 20 targets and aspirations set out in the Ambition remain relevant and central to decision-making for regional Australia over the next decade.” 

Targets within the Regionalisation Ambition 2032 include: 

• increasing the regions’ contribution to national output to boost Australia’s GDP by $13.8 billion by 2032, 
• reducing the recruitment difficulty rate in regional Australia to below 40 per cent, 
• increasing rental vacancy rates in regional areas to above 3 per cent and 
• ensuring building approvals keep pace with population growth. 

Mr Willox said: “With a strong presence in regional Australia, Ai Group has gained much insight from members about the regional business environment they operate in, the opportunities which will present themselves in the future and the issues that trouble them (or keep them awake) each day in the region.  

“While issues such as labour and skills shortages, rising energy costs and a lack of housing are common around the country, there are problems specific to each region that require local solutions.” 

These include: 

Queensland 

• concerns about whether aspirational infrastructure projects will have the capacity to support the growth of regional workforces, 
• the time it takes to benefit from Designated Area Migration Agreements,  
• the prohibitive cost of adopting clean energy solutions, 
• payroll tax, 
• increasing insurance costs, 
• increases in supply chain oncosts across rail and road and 
• the effect of youth crime in attracting workers. 

 Regional Victoria  

• the strain on local infrastructure following the influx of people to regional centres during the pandemic and  
• Commonwealth Games concerns: accommodation, legacy infrastructure and the impact on skills. 

Regional NSW 

• supply chain issues affecting production,  
• insurance costs and the increasing challenges of getting insurance and  
• the bureaucracy and administration needed to comply with conducting business. 

“Joining the alliance is another way we can support Ai Group members in the regions to make the most of opportunities while dealing with the many unique challenges they face operating outside the major cities,” Mr Willox said.