The Yass Valley has scored the #4 position for innovation in a ranking of the nation’s Connected Lifestyle Regions, conducted by the Regional Australia Institute (RAI).
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Connected Lifestyle Regions are those in which people settle when looking for a tree-change, or a sea-change, but want to remain close and connected to bigger cities, and in the RAI’s latest report, titled “Innovation in Regional Australia: Spreading the Ideas Boom”, the Valley has been designated as a major innovation hotspot.
The independent think-tank defines innovation as: “the activity of creating or capturing value from doing something new”, and is quick to point out that it is not limited to the traditional areas of research, inventions, or academia.
“If you or I had a good business idea we could be a bit innovative and make it happen and we wouldn’t necessarily need a uni; the digital revolution has opened up enormous possibilities for new initiatives,” RAI CEO Jack Archer said.
The Institute has been gathering statistics on regional business for years, but a few weeks ago, supported by Bendigo Bank, it added some new measures under the category of “Business Dynamo”, on which the Yass Valley performed especially well.
For the number of trademark applications submitted, the Valley ranks in the top 13 per cent of the nation’s 564 Local Government Areas.
And for the availability of knowledge-intensive business services like law, accounting, and marketing, which support enterprise growth, Yass ranks in the top 12 per cent.
“On these measures Yass is doing especially well because of its connection to Canberra, but we’re hoping to see further innovation and local business expansion, increasing employment in the Valley and reducing the need to commute,” Jack said.
Several local entrepreneurs have brought the innovation concept to life in the region, and one of these is mother of two, Alison Gregory, who lives on a property in Gundaroo and launched her Little French Provincial Shop from her kitchen. Alison has a passion for furniture painting in traditional French styles, and when friends saw her work, they asked her to paint their furniture too. Before long, Alison had created an exquisite website through which she now sells a wide range of elegant homewares to people all over Australia.
A different kind of innovation comes from local business owner James Walker, who has dedicated himself to the pursuit of building energy efficient homes that are affordable and also healthy.
“Modern houses have become airtight in the pursuit of energy efficiency, which can cause problems like mould, condensation, poor air quality, and high levels of contamination within the home,” James said.
“The average person breathes over 15 cubic metres of air each day and it has been found that the air inside our houses is often more contaminated than the air outside.”
James and his partners are endeavouring to create a system that efficiently heats and cools a house while also purifying the air, creating healthy homes.
Demonstrating similar innovation is local electrician Tim Davaris, who started in his father’s electrical business in Yass, which had been running for 20 years, and transitioned into solar energy by setting up a company he named “Ygrene” (“Energy” spelt backwards).
“I was looking for a change but wanted to stay in the region and since doing solar I’ve never looked back. We’ve become more busy every year and off-grid systems are my favourite jobs, especially with ongoing improvements in battery technology that can make 24-hour solar power possible,” he said.
Also working on renewable energy is innovator and Yass Valley Business Chamber Vice President Touie Smith Jr. He specialises in geothermal energy, which involves drilling U-shaped copper pipes deep into the ground, where the temperature is a stable 15 degrees, and this heats a liquid running through the pipes. After being boosted, the heat is commonly used to warm the slab in a house.
Touie was one of the first people to use this technology in Australia, having taken over the heating and cooling business from his father and re-oriented his career into innovative renewable energy.
“We’re trying to bring this to everybody and want to make it an option for all new houses.”
“It’s really catching on. When we started, around five years ago, we were doing five or six systems every year, but now we’re doing one every few weeks,” he said.
Jack Archer is encouraged by the innovation being shown in regions like Yass.
“All these businesses are fabulous examples of local innovation and beautifully illustrate what our data is telling us”.
Yass Valley Council Mayor Rowena Abbey was equally enthusiastic about the results.
“In the technologically savvy and global economy that we now live in, creating a business is no longer about being based in a city, you can be innovative and cutting-edge sitting at your kitchen table in Gundaroo or Yass.”
“I’m so proud that this wonderful community is being recognised for what we’re achieving and hope this recognition transitions into residents supporting local business and innovation,” she said.
1. Palerang NSW
2. Queenscliffe VIC
3. Byron NSW
4. Yass Valley NSW
5. Wingecarribee NSW
6. Wandering WA
7. Kiama NSW
8. Surf Coast VIC
9. Toodyay WA
10. Boddington WA
Source: Regional Australia Institute, 2016.