Wagner praises resilient region
Businessman warns against ‘reliance on hand-outs’
BUSINESSMAN John Wagner believes the Toowoomba region is one of the most resilient in Australia.
The chairman of the Wagner Corporation was a key panellist during a discussion on regional resilience at the State of the Nation conference in Canberra yesterday.
Reflecting on his involvement with the conference, run by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, Mr Wagner said national attention had turned to the Garden City in recent years.
“It went really well. A lot of positive feedback and hopefully there are some messages going out about this region,” he said.
“I think there’s no doubt that Toowoomba is held up as one of the best cases of resilient regions in Australia.”
Mr Wagner, whose company owns the privately-run Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport and Wellcamp Business Park, said Toowoomba’s resilience came from a diversified economy that rewarded private enterprise.
“We as a nation have got to get out of the reliance on government handouts,” he said.
“Toowoomba is a great example of how we’ve done that, particularly with (the development of ) TSBE.
“It’s really important we’ve got a diverse economy.”
Toowoomba’s mixed economy created gross regional product of $10.4 billion in the 2016/17 financial year, with construction and real estate leading broad economic growth of 6.2 per cent.
But Mr Wagner said the key take-home message for both Toowoomba and Australia was for governments to create a positive business environment.
“I think the biggest message is that all levels of government are proactive going forward, particularly local government, to make it positive for business,” he said.
Speaking on Sky News, Mr Wagner also discussed the business’ publicly-listed company Wagners Holding Company and talked up the prospect of sustainable growth.
“It’s business as usual. We try to be ahead of the game and give good service to our customers,” he told Sky News host Ticky Fullerton yesterday morning.
Wagners Holding Company enjoyed one of its strongest trading months since floating in December on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Shares yesterday were trading at $4.30, just shy of the peak price on June 13 of $4.39.