A regional development master plan was the focus of discussion on future economic and sustainable growth in the Yass Valley, following a visit from the NSW Minister for Small Business and for Regional Tourism, John Barilaro on Monday.
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The Minister met with business owners around Comur Street, accompanied by Member for Goulburn Pru Goward. This was followed by a sit down discussion with staff at Yass Valley Council (YVC), councillors and the Yass Business Chamber.
“You don’t wait for the government to create change, they aren’t forward thinkers,” Mr Barilaro said at the meeting.
“Local governments need to look at their own strengths.
“My role is to facilitate and identify opportunity ... local governments need to present their strengths to identify what the local vision is.”
The visit was a part of a fact-finding mission by Mr Barilaro and has been carried out statewide. He explained that many of the issues correspond with most regional towns.
Mayor Rowena Abbey said that Yass Valley’s biggest strength is it’s proximity to the ACT.
“Although we are growing our cross border relationships, particularly in tourism, it also presents many problems,” Cr Abbey said.
“A lot of people work in Canberra and educate their children in Canberra, so it is easier for people to shop within the ACT border which ultimately doesn’t stimulate our economy.”
As the Member for Monaro, Mr Barilaro resides in Queanbeyan which shares many of the cross border issues present in the Yass Valley. He expressed his interest in moving government jobs to regional towns.
“I have already identified 15,000 jobs which could be moved to the bush; imagine what 30 or 40 more jobs would do for the Yass economy,” he said.
Business owners identified issues such as the need for more employment within the Yass Valley, the divergence in rates and education.
Ms Goward explained her interest in the Minister's visit as an opportunity to listen to residents of the Yass Valley and gain traction for the issues within her electorate.
“Our time has come to create a plan for the future of Yass,” she told the Tribune.
“We have become a dormitory region and that needs to change - this is not the same town I came to live in in 1997.
“We have the opportunity to create jobs here, there is great opportunity already in tourism and aged care, the proximity to Canberra sucks our people away and we need to fight our corner harder.
“The Barton Highway does need improvements, but it also jeopardises our region, we shouldn’t be seeing it as the only option. We need to start building up Yass so that our residents can live and work, that’s why we need a plan.”
Mr Barilaro indicated that now was the time to act on a Master Plan, to facilitate the Yass Valley in acquiring some of the state's $6 billion from the Poles and Wires power privatisation.
The Minister hopes for another visit to Yass at the end of the year with the Cross Border Commissioner.
Discussions are already underway with the YVC and the Business Chamber to draft a master plan.