ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY
the Sunshine Coast had always been known as a
great lifestyle/tourism destination, it also needed to
be considered a business destination. The Natural
Advantage Regional Economic Development
Strategy (REDS) 2013-2033 was launched in
September 2013 featuring a range of game-changer
projects. This included the development of a
greenfield CBD and the expansion of the Sunshine
Coast Airport.
Steve’s love of the environment also saw him
champion the Sunshine Coast solar farm from the
beginning. Sunshine Coast Council is the first
Council in Australia to offset 100% of its energy
needs through green energy.
The City of Adelaide is also undertaking
two generation defining, major real-estate
developments; Adelaide Central Market Arcade and
88 O’Connell Street in North Adelaide.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
RISING STAR
WINNER
BEN MASON
Arup
FINALIST
THE HONOURABLE LORD MAYOR MARTIN
HAESE
City of Adelaide
Martin Haese is the current Lord Mayor of Adelaide,
elected to office in November 2014.
Having had a successful career in retail over three
decades, as Lord Mayor, Martin has been focused
on enhancing the City of Adelaide’s reputation as
an innovative and sustainable city with world class
liveability and culture, ensuring the City becomes
an even greater place to live, learn, work, play, visit,
and invest.
Martin’s leadership has helped reshape the City of
Adelaide through a strong focus on advocacy and
collaborative partnerships, securing more than $50
million in funding from the State Government for
joint-investment public infrastructure, community,
and sporting projects.
In partnership with TPG Telecom, the City of Adelaide
is rolling out the nation leading, Ten Gigabit Adelaide
Network; with more than 1000 buildings registered
for connection. Simultaneously, the City of Adelaide
is implementing a plan to become one of the world’s
first carbon neutral cities through the Carbon Neutral
Adelaide partnership with the State Government.
Council has also developed a City Insights
Dashboard to make data accessible for business
decision making, implemented the Building Upgrade
Finance scheme to support the upgrade of ageing
commercial building stock, installed cost-reducing
LED street lights, is rolling out a Smart Parking
app and sensors, has introduced an e-planning
portal which simplifies the development application
process, and applied a 5-year rate holiday for
purchasers of owner-occupied homes off the plan.
Ben is a passionate economist, transforming cities
through better investment. In his career to date he
has pushed the economic development agenda
through his work with Arup in the UK, UAE and
Australia with an emphasis on ensuring that
economics provides meaningful insights and
advocating evidence-based decision making
Ben is dedicated to his professional and technical
development, investing his time in academic training
and being on the cutting edge of the discipline.
This is evidenced through his Master’s degree in
Economic Development and Policy Analysis from
the University of Nottingham, his Better Business
Case practitioner qualification and gaining EDA
accreditation to be an Australian Certified Economic
Developer.
Since coming to Australia, Ben has consistently
sought to ensure that economic development is
given a voice in sectors which often focus purely on
the financial angle. He has presented on economic
topics at the AusRail, New Urban Agenda and
Waste Management Association of Australia’s
conferences, reaching an audience of around 500
with his economic development thought leadership.
Ben has also worked on a number of projects which
have challenged the norms/status quo of economic
development. One notable project has been leading
on the development of an economic theme for the
Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia’s
Infrastructure Sustainability Rating Tool.
VOL.11 NO.2 2018 | 19