ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY
FINALIST
MACKAY REGIONAL COUNCIL
Once in a Lifetime: The Elton Experience
Mackay basked in the glow of its Once in a
Lifetime moment last year. In February 2017, the
Queensland Premier and Chugg Entertainment
announced that Mackay would host music royalty,
Sir Elton John, in September 2017.
Dubbed a Once in a Lifetime experience, the
concert, one of only four being held in Australia,
put the spotlight on Mackay. Hosting an iconic,
international superstar generated a buzz and
Mackay Regional Council developed a strategy to
maximise benefits.
The ‘Elton John Mackay 2017’ concert, attended by
more than 15,000, was a sell-out – the biggest ever
event held in Mackay. It generated $3 million for the
economy and secured national and international
exposure.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
INITIATIVES - RURAL & REMOTE
AREAS
WINNER
DUBBO REGIONAL COUNCIL
Regional Platters Program
Regional Platters is an agricultural businesses
development and marketing program driven
by Dubbo Regional Council and opened up to
partnership with other rural and remote Councils
in the Orana Region of NSW. The Program aims
to support agriculturally based businesses develop
their capacity to approach the issues that are
preventing their growth and development, provide
better more reliable income streams through
business diversification and equip businesses with
skills for better marketing and communication of
their products.
The Regional Platters program focuses on
developing paddock to plate business tactics
in the primary production industry and those
local businesses that engage only local primary
produce. This is undertaken through business-led
workshops and the opportunity to pitch for funding
to positively grow their business or provide solutions
to a business problem. The program involves the
development of a regional platters guide, providing
a platform to market collaboratively and drive the
regional economic growth through agricultural
business diversification.
The Regional Platters program provides a full
solution of business planning and marketing
communication development both for sales and
investment attraction. Businesses exit the program
with their business plan prepared and up to date, a
pitch to take to banks or investors and marketing
skills as well as platform collateral for active
marketing of their business.
FINALIST
WINTON SHIRE COUNCIL
Winton’s Way Out West Fest – Celebrating
Waltzing Matilda
To celebrate the opening of the rebuilt Waltzing
Matilda Centre, the Winton Shire Council saw an
opportunity to provide much needed economic
stimulus to the Winton Shire and Western
Queensland Region through the running of a four
day music festival known as ‘Winton’s Way Out
West Fest –Celebrating Waltzing Matilda.’
Winton’s major tourist attraction, the Waltzing
Matilda Centre was destroyed by fire in June 2015.
At the time of the fire, the Centre attracted over
25,000 visitors to the town of Winton with each
visitor staying on average 3.6 nights. After the fire
the visitor night stay dropped to 1.8 nights, which
severely impacted on the visitor spend.
VOL.11 NO.2 2018 | 11