Regional growth: It’s in our own hands

Many of us can’t help but respond with bemusement at the degree of ignorance many international visitors have in reference to Australia.

The lack of general knowledge about anywhere outside the borders of the United States for some Americans, for example, can be quite mind-blowing.

But if we believe for a minute that the international community has a mortgage on astonishing levels of ignorance then think again.

Many Australians and Victorians are just as guilty of being consumed by a narrow view of the world.

Perhaps no greater example of this came a short time ago on a visit to Melbourne.

The revelation came during a random backyard conversation involving a group of everyday adults who had spent their lives in suburban Melbourne.

During the impromptu informal chat, it quickly became apparent that few knew anything about their state beyond metropolitan boundaries. Of particular note was a degree of uncomfortable awkwardness in explaining to obviously bright individuals there was indeed a part of Victoria called the Wimmera.

Surely they were kidding? But no! Some had heard of a ‘wasteland’ called the Mallee and were familiar with Mildura because it was ‘always the hottest place mentioned on television weather reports’.

But the big blob of geography making up a large section of the relatively small state they called home was in large part, a mystery to them.

The western Victorians in the conversation group were well up to speed with the many issues involving metropolitan life.

But when it came to discussions about the Wimmera, comments such as ‘I reckon we might have travelled through there on the way to Adelaide’ or questions such as ‘is it near Ballarat?’ were hard to take. These people were from Melbourne, not another state or country.

Despite this providing the tiniest snapshot of society, it suggested that as a region, the Wimmera remained out of sight and out of mind for many Victorians.

It was also a timely reminder that if we want our part of the world to move forward – to continue to explore development diversity and growth – it was up to us, the people who live here, to make it happen. There would be no free rides.

Finding ways to create a new ‘gold rush’ to generate fresh vibrancy in regional Victoria is a tough equation.

What we do know is that it is all about people – providing reasons and opportunity, for them to relocate to the country.

It is something our regional leaders have pursued with varying degrees of success and it is important to maintain momentum.

As Wimmera residents following Melbourne issues such as a costly urban sprawl, overcrowding, traffic log-jams, expensive property markets and people living on the streets, it seems obvious that a shift to the country might be a viable alternative.

But it is obviously not that easy. If it were, it would have happened years ago.

We might be seeing progress through various regional development programs and projects and hopefully the gold key that opens the primary door to profound regional growth is somewhere in the mix.