CONNECT GEELONG. We re ready

Transcription

1 CONNECT GEELONG The National Broadband Network We re ready

2 CONtents INSIDe page Overview /3 Introduction /4 Early Roll Out of NBN to G21 /5 Deliver Better Health Care /6 Expand Knowledge Opportunities /7 Expand Knowledge Horizons /8 Boost the Economy to Create New Jobs /9 Better Connect Communities and Enhance Liveability /10 Our Stakeholders Lend their Support /11 G21 Fast Facts /15 The positive community support for the national broadband network within the G21 region makes it an ideal location for an early rollout of the NBN. The National Broadband Network - We re ready Prepared by City of Greater Geelong on behalf of G21 Region Alliance /2 The National Broadband Network - Geelong: we re ready

3 G21 is keen to work with the Federal Government to establish the potential for, and identify ways to facilitate an early roll out of NBN to Geelong and the surrounding region. Overview Connect geelong: We re Ready Connect Geelong summarises G21 s case for early roll out of the National Broadband Network. G21 (Geelong Region Alliance) is the formal alliance of government, business and community organisations working together to improve the lives of people within the Geelong region across five municipalities Greater Geelong, Colac Otway, Surf Coast, Queenscliffe and Golden Plains. G21 is keen to work with the Federal Government to establish the potential for, and identify ways to facilitate an early roll out of NBN to Geelong and the surrounding region. The early attraction of this infrastructure to G21 is critical to boosting much needed regional growth and prosperity. Specifically, the National Broadband Network will: Deliver Better Health Care Geelong is the major provider of health and allied health services within south west Victoria. Demand for services in this sector is forecast to grow. Improved digital infrastructure will assist in providing services that achieve greater efficiencies and cost savings as well as improving service delivery within Geelong and in rural and remote areas of the Region. NBN will support tele-health and diagnostic services and engage greater numbers of people in health care promotion. Expand Knowledge and Research Horizons Geelong is a university city and has significant existing research capability. The delivery of the national broadband network will improve delivery methods for education, knowledge and teaching functions. It will encourage and enable greater research collaborations and the systems that support these initiatives. It will provide a platform for Geelong to be recognised and interact at a global level. Boost the Economy to Create Jobs The G21 region is experiencing significant population growth. Employment opportunities to support this growth and assist diversification of the region s economic base are paramount. The NBN will encourage innovative and smart business practices to facilitate expansion of strategic growth sectors such as tourism including major sporting events, the conference and convention market, services to Avalon Airport, contact centres and small and home based businesses. Better Connect Communities and Enhance Liveability within the Region G21 has been earmarked as a region that will assist in easing the development pressure on the State Capital Melbourne. The NBN will improve the appeal of G21 as a highly liveable and smart community to attract skilled professionals required in strategic growth sectors. It will improve the interconnectedness between Melbourne and Geelong as well as rural and remote communities within the region. High-speed broadband is critical infrastructure that will enable smart and innovative communities to flourish. G21 is keen to identify opportunities for the region to attract an early roll-out of the NBN. Connect Geelong: We re Ready /3

4 INTRODUCTION The National Broadband Network (NBN) is one of the largest infrastructure projects undertaken by the Australian Government estimated to cost $43 billion over eight years. NBN will deliver improved faster broadband to local communities that will facilitate regional growth and prosperity. The Geelong Region Alliance (G21) has established a dedicated taskforce, Connect Geelong, to harness stakeholder support for the national broadband network and lobby at a federal level for the early roll out of NBN to the Region. Geelong is set to play a critical role in shaping the Victorian economy in the future. High speed broad band is essential infrastructure that supports Geelong s long term vision to foster development and growth opportunities that will support a population of 500,000 by High speed broadband is fundamental infrastructure that complements G21 s strategic vision to transition Geelong from its former reliance on heavy manufacturing to a modern, competitive and innovative economy driven by health, education, research, advanced manufacturing and tourism related activities. NBN will enable the region to exploit opportunities to grow strategic sectors that include health, research, education and tourism as well as supporting a range of activities in the economy. An early roll out of NBN will underpin regional economic competitiveness, grow employment opportunities and improve liveability for the G21 community. The G21 region is Victoria s largest regional centre. Geelong is the major city of the region located one hour south west of Melbourne (75km). Other major townships in the region include Torquay, Bannockburn, Queenscliff and Colac. 290,000 residents live in the G21 area with this number expected to double by Over 20,000 business enterprises operate in the region. Access to improved digital infrastructure has been seen as an enabler of economic development for some time. Regional Development Australia Barwon South West Committee s report Barwon South West Victoria s Region of Opportunity 2010 identifies lack of broadband infrastructure as a regional weakness. The Committee recognises that patchy broadband capacity hinders social connectivity, service delivery and business development. The Geelong Economic Development Strategy recognises the importance of knowledge, research and advanced manufacturing in the transition of Geelong s economy. The need for a strong and progressive information, communication and technology sector as a driver of change is a crucial element in the strategy. A specific Information, Communication and Technology Cluster, ICT Geelong Ltd, was established from an initial study carried out in The cluster seeks to foster innovation and the commercialisation of ideas, including the ICT Invention Test competition in partnership with the University of California Berkeley. ICT Geelong Ltd together with the City of Greater Geelong have successfully provided a Wi Fi hotspot to a section of central Geelong. The intention is to expand the fibre network throughout central business district. In 2009, the City of Greater Geelong along with the Municipal Association of Victoria, the State Government and other Local Government Areas experiencing significant growth developed a policy response to the potential of fibre to premises in greenfield areas. As a result the City of Greater Geelong has amended its planning scheme to mandate pit and pipe infrastructure in greenfield subdivisions. The Geelong Ring Road Employment Precinct located at Lara to Geelong s north, is one of few areas in Victoria zoned for heavy industrial purposes. A full range of services including ducting for fibre is currently being supplied to the greenfield site. G21 has established a dedicated taskforce, Connect Geelong, to drive initiatives focussing on improving digital efficiencies in the region. /4 The National Broadband Network - Geelong: we re ready

5 The Geelong Region Alliance (G21) has established a dedicated taskforce, Connect Geelong, to harness stakeholder support for the national broadband network and lobby at a federal level for the early roll out of NBN to the Region. early roll out of nbn to G21 Specifically the infrastructure will: Geelong is set to play a critical role in shaping the Victorian economy in the future. High speed broad band is essential infrastructure that supports Geelong s long term vision to foster development and support the anticipated population growth predicted to take place over the next 50 years. High speed broadband is fundamental infrastructure that complements the regional strategic vision to transition Geelong from its former reliance on heavy manufacturing to a modern, competitive and innovative economy driven by health, education, research, advanced manufacturing and tourism related activities. An early roll out of high speed broadband will deliver better health care in the region, expand local knowledge and research horizons and boost the economy to create new jobs. Allow G21 to develop as a smart community with higher than average levels of internet connectivity. Enable local business and specialist technicians to utilise the latest technology to communicate across Australia and internationally. Improve service delivery for clients in remoter parts of the region and throughout rural parts of the State. Increase communication participation in internet usage across the region. Engage greater numbers of people to participate in services and programs delivered across the region. Unify digital communication platforms across the region. Deliver innovative methods for doing business and delivering services. Enhance livability of the region. Connect Geelong: We re Ready /5

6 DELIVER BETTER HEALTH CARE Health and allied health services form one of G21 s major employing sectors and this trend is set to continue into the future. Population growth and an ageing population will increase demand on services resulting in employment growth and drive investment for related facilities. As the largest regional centre outside Melbourne, communities across South Western Victoria utilise services located in Geelong. Barwon Health is the largest health care provider in the region and one of the largest in Victoria. Geelong also has two major private hospitals - St John of God and Geelong Private Hospital. Additional hospitals operate at Colac, Lorne and Apollo Bay. G21 is also well represented by allied health and community and social services. The importance of the sector to the region has resulted in significant public and private investment in health facilities in the G21 region over recent years, with more projects announced for the future. St John of God is committed to a $56 million expansion of its current hospital and a new $255 million teaching hospital is planned at Waurn Ponds (co-located with Deakin University) and is expected to be operational by Improved digital infrastructure will be enormously beneficial for the Geelong community not only in terms of more comprehensive health facilities but in terms of the region s ability to leverage investment and employment growth. Improved digital infrastructure will boost the local economy and create jobs by: Achieving greater efficiencies and cost savings in the provision and delivery of health and allied health services. Enabling the growth of tele-health care services by specialist practitioners. Improving service delivery for clients in remoter parts of the region and throughout rural parts of the State. Improving service delivery to clients particularly in image sharing and diagnostics between health care providers. Ensuring compatibility of digital communication systems between various service providers. Supporting best-practice service delivery throughout the region allowing Geelong to be a location of choice for health care services and in the process ease the pressure on Melbourne based facilities. Engaging more people in health care promotion activities and health care screening. Continuing a link from Geelong to Warrnambool South West Health would allow a series of service delivery enhancements to take place for example, the remote monitoring of clients in their own residence; the exchange of information between medical clinics such as discharge plans, results, medications and health promotion information; and access to tele-health by specialists and other services. /6 The National Broadband Network - Geelong: we re ready

7 NBN will have a positive impact on vocational education by allowing us to further engage students beyond the classroom, at home or in the workplace. EXPAND Knowledge opportunities G21 has outstanding education and research capability. There are few regional cities in Australia able to match the sophisticated range of expertise and talent that exists within the region. Geelong is home to Deakin University a leader in undergraduate and postgraduate education. The university has two Geelong campuses; at Waurn Ponds and the Geelong waterfront. The university has set a target to triple the number of students at its waterfront campus to 20,000 by Deakin University is a leader in well-being education. The University is home to the Deakin Medical School (the first in southern Australia to be based solely in a regional area) and allied disciplines in Health, Nursing, Nutrition and Dietetics and Psychology. Study is offered to the post graduate level. Deakin University places a strong emphasis on research and has established the Geelong Technology Precinct (Waurn Ponds) to advance knowledge and technology to support the Victorian manufacturing industry. The facility concentrates on Deakin s core research capabilities in materials, biotechnology, chemistry, and environmental engineering. The facility also provides tenancy for technology-oriented businesses and enables proof of concept and industrial prototyping. The Gordon, is one of Australia s oldest TAFE colleges. The facility provides a range of education services to some 23,000 students per year. The Gordon TAFE specialises in distance and international education. Connect Geelong: We re Ready /7

8 Expand research horizons CSIRO s Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) is a national facility established to diagnose emergency animal disease outbreaks and provide world-class animal research facilities at all levels of biosecurity (up to physical containment level 4 (PC4). The PC4 facility is available to researchers from all around the world. CSIRO s Materials Science & Engineering, concentrates on the structure, properties and behaviours of fibres and fibrous materials for a range of industrial purposes. The facility works closely with the Centre for Material and Fibre Innovation at Deakin University. Deakin University, Barwon Health and CSIRO are working collaboratively to establish a Centre for Infectious and Emerging Diseases Centre in Geelong. If successful the centre will be one of only three organisations in Australia with this cross organisational structure. Improved digital infrastructure will expand knowledge and research horizons by: Improving the delivery methods for education, knowledge and teaching functions. Attracting additional participants to G21 s knowledge and research facilities. Promoting improved collaboration between research facilities and organisations. Providing a means for Geelong organisations to operate on an international basis and promote increased collaborative opportunities. Improving the movement of data that underpins research and education. Standardising platforms of communication and tele-conferencing. Improving real-time digital communication for researchers. Deakin University, Barwon Health and CSIRO are working collaboratively to establish a Geelong Centre for Infectious and Emerging Diseases. If successful the centre will be one of only three organisations in Australia with this cross organisational structure. /8 The National Broadband Network - Geelong: we re ready

9 BOOST THE ECONOMY TO CREATE NEW JOBS Improved digital infrastructure will boost the local economy and create jobs by: Geelong has a well-established reputation for meeting the needs of business and industry. More than 20,000 business enterprises operate locally supported by a workforce of 134,000. Manufacturing has been the mainstay of the G21 region economy since early last century. The industry has undergone significant change over the past 20 years, including rationalisation, movements off-shore and technological improvements. The remaining manufacturing enterprises within the G21 region are more sophisticated, innovative, reliant on technology and focused on continual improvement. The G21 region is Victoria s most frequented tourism region outside Melbourne. The region, which includes the Great Ocean Road, Bellarine Peninsula, Surf Coast and the Otways, receives more than 4 million tourism visits per annum. Today s tourism industry relies heavily on social media applications such as Twitter and Facebook linked to on-line bookings and web based visitor searches. Super fast broad band and the proliferation of hand held devices provides opportunities to enhance visitor experiences through interpretation of cultural and natural assets in addition to directing visitors to specific locations. Geelong has a strong and growing business conference market that is worth $17 billion to Australia annually. G21 is united in its resolve to establish a dedicated Geelong Convention and Exhibition Centre to drive growth of this sector. Geelong is ideally located one hour from Melbourne to service day and overnight conventions. The success of these facilities is often based on their ability to set themselves apart from competing centres. Avalon Airport is home to Victoria s second airport. The facility moves over a million passengers a year for Jetstar and Tiger Airways. The Victorian State Government is currently investigating the possibility of a dedicated rail line to the airport. At the same time the Avalon Airport is lobbying for the right to deliver international passenger services. Avalon Airport offers enormous growth prospects for the region. Geelong has well earned reputation for servicing the contact centre industry. Over the years, Geelong has been a base for functions by the Australian Taxation Office, Centrelink and Telstra. Contact centres provide welcome employment opportunities for tertiary students and women re-entering the workforce. Geelong is keen to pursue opportunities that may arise through the sustainable outsourcing of Government services. Telstra has recently announced its intention to close its Geelong facility by mid year. Council is working towards widening the skill sets of centres to facilitate an easy transition for similar organisations. Providing an environment that fosters innovative and smart manufacturing activities that can compete globally. Encouraging easy access to Geelong/Otway visitor websites and Apps to showcase local experiences both within Australia and internationally. Facilitating the growth of the business conference and events market through the supply of the latest technology particularly for scientific, technical and experience related sectors. Acting as an additional attractor for investors to the Convention and Conference Centre project. Underpinning the growth of passenger services through Avalon by enabling easier and faster bookings and access to information. Positioning Geelong as prime location for contact centre activities given that it would offer advanced digital infrastructure for world wide operations. Offering small to medium enterprises greater workplace efficiencies, access to digital capabilities and great opportunities to invest in the global market. Improving access to digital communications for SME s outside main urban areas where current connectivity is poor. Improving business efficiencies by providing faster business transactions and reducing the need for the movement of people and printed documents. Fostering the growth of home based businesses throughout the region particularly for those people looking to relocate to Geelong for a sea or tree change lifestyle. Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in the G21 economy. 95% of all businesses are SMEs, that employ 50% of the workforce. SME s have representation in tourism and hospitality, retail, business services and cultural and recreational activities and provide many employment options for communities particularly outside main urban areas. SMEs rely heavily on digital infrastructure to support their day to day business. Connect Geelong: We re Ready /9

10 BETTER CONNECT communities and ENHANCE LIVEABILITY The G21 region covers an area of 8,944 square kilometres and supports a population of 290,000 people. The region is diverse in nature and encompasses highly developed urban centres; large numbers of coastal communities that experience high visitation during peak holiday times; and remote agricultural rural communities. Geelong is located one hour south west of Melbourne and for this reason has been identified by the Victorian Government as a growth centre that will assist in easing development pressures on the state capital, Melbourne. In recent years G21 has experienced population growth of nearly 2% per annum. G21 has become a location of choice for many reasons; the economy is more diversified, the region offers greater value for money in housing compared to Melbourne; the local employment market has grown; and connections into Melbourne have improved. In short the region offers all the benefits of a capital city without the congestion. G21 s labourforce requirements are different to a decade ago. Many employment opportunities on offer today are for skilled professionals to service growth sectors such as health, education, research, tourism and advanced manufacturing. Professionals considering these positions seek highly livable communities with a range of infrastructure, facilities and cultural and recreational offerings. The City of Greater Geelong is currently delivering a major residential growth precinct to Geelong s south. The Armstrong Creek Urban Growth Area will accommodate up to 55,000 residents and 22,000 new homes. The Urban Growth Area will also include two employment precincts. Land sales have commenced with first residents expected by This level of growth increasingly challenges public services to keep pace and operate in a more efficient fashion. Digital infrastructure improvements allow for innovation in this field. For example the smart management of parking and public transport, monitoring of street cleanliness and other public assets. All of which add to the overall livability of places and communities. Improved digital infrastructure will boost the connectedness of local communities and enhance liveability by: Increasing the appeal of G21 as a highly livable community for skilled professionals required to service strategic growth sectors. Improving connectedness to coastal areas and remote agricultural communities throughout the region. Improving community participation in a range of programs and services. Supporting the sea-change tree-change lifestyle aspiration by providing opportunity for greater work-life balance. Easing development pressures on Melbourne by promoting comparable alternatives. Geelong is located one hour south west of Melbourne and for this reason has been identified by the Victorian Government as a growth centre that will assist in easing development pressures on the state capital, Melbourne. /10 The National Broadband Network - Geelong: we re ready

11 High-speed broadband will be essential in enabling the small business sector to compete in global markets. OUR STAKEHOLDERS LEND THEIR SUPPORT Regional Business The small business sector represents 95% of the business community responsible for 50% of the total workforce. High-speed broadband will be essential in enabling the sector to compete in global markets. Many small businesses also work long and anti social hours. The ability afforded by high-speed broadband to work from home has the potential to improve people s quality of life. The small business sector recognises and embraces the notion of Geelong being a city in transition moving away from traditional manufacturing to a broader based economy underpinned by services in health, education and lifestyle. The NBN is crucial in enabling this to happen. With significant population growth in areas such as Armstrong Creek, this region will fast outgrow its existing infrastructure and will then lag behind cities such as our near neighbour Melbourne. Fast and efficient communication and data flow is a critical factor for business survival right now. As a growth region, we cannot afford to delay the rollout of the NBN to the Geelong Region. Bernadette Uzelac, Executive Officer Geelong Chamber of Commerce Advanced Manufacturing Manufacturing in Geelong contributes 43% of the regions gross revenue (output). Its ability to do this stems from a combination of factors, innovation, flexibility and creativity married to an attitude of continuous improvement. The ability to manipulate, store and transfer data quickly and efficiently is crucial to manufacturing. Development of advanced manufacturing will be hampered by the lack of affordable bandwidth. Without doubt, investment will be attracted to areas that offer modern international standard communications. Should Geelong not be included in the next wave of NBN rollout it will be disadvantaged. A key part of many businesses growth plans are to continue to push Geelong as a high value centre for specialised engineering. We are already hampered by current connections, and to grow further we will certainly need significantly more bandwidth for conferencing, application sharing and extension of our local offices to anywhere virtually and to be able to work collaboratively with clients and work colleagues world wide. David Peart, Executive Officer Geelong Manufacturing Council Connect Geelong: We re Ready /11

12 OUR STAKEHOLDERS LEND THEIR SUPPORT Education & Research Deakin University is dependent on high capacity broadband access to support its research, teaching and operational functions. This is particularly true of the Geelong and wider Barwon region. Early roll out of the NBN in these regions would improve the capacity of the University to deliver these functions. Although the University delivers significant amounts of off-campus learning, the availability of high-speed broadband would radically improve delivery. The existing Deakin at your doorstep program could be available throughout the whole region. Large numbers of academic staff live in the region and are often required to work from home. High capacity broadband would enable researchers to link and collaborate with other organisations in an efficient and effective manner. Other services such as high definition video could also be deployed at home and used in research and teaching. All will have a positive impact on productivity. The University has established many successful teaching and research partnerships with other organisations in the region and is reliant on these partnerships for student placement training. Obtaining cost effective network access within many of these partner organisations is very problematic. The NBN would resolve many of these difficulties. Professor Jane Den Hollander, Vice Chancellor Deakin University NBN will have a positive impact on vocational education by allowing us to further engage students beyond the classroom, at home or in the workplace. The promise of the NBN to provide ubiquitous affordable access to high speed broadband will allow most students access to these new learning technologies and increase the level of vocational education engagement in the future. Steve Gale, Program Manager ICT Information & Communications Technology The Gordon TAFE High capacity broadband would enable researchers to link and collaborate with other organisations in an efficient and effective manner. /12 The National Broadband Network - Geelong: we re ready

13 ...21 service sites that presently operate do so at varying speeds and levels of reliability, often impeding workflows and efficiency. All of these issues are solved by access to high speed broadband... OUR STAKEHOLDERS LEND THEIR SUPPORT Health Barwon Health along with nine metropolitan health services have successfully rolled out image sharing for real time diagnostics and remote consulting this needs to be extended. Considerable work has been done to unify communications platforms across the region in remote areas and mobile teams. These platforms need an appropriate fibre network to unify them at a quality that would allow multi disciplinary team working. Similarly the 21 service sites that presently operate do so at varying speeds and levels of reliability, often impeding workflows and efficiency. All of these issues are solved by access to high speed broadband. Continuing a link from Geelong to Warrnambool South West Health would allow a series of service delivery enhancements to take place for example, the remote monitoring of clients in their own residence; the exchange of information between medical clinics such as discharge plans, results, medications and health promotion information; and access to tele-health by specialists and other services. Ann Larkins, Information and Telecommunications Director Barwon Health Connect Geelong: We re Ready /13

14 OUR STAKEHOLDERS LEND THEIR SUPPORT Local Government The Surf Coast Shire an adjoining authority to the City of Greater Geelong while considerably smaller in terms of economy and population has a proportionately higher home based and internet reliant business base. Indeed this proportion is the highest in Victoria. The NBN will allow the application of smart technologies resulting in the more efficient use of time, increase the capabilities of technology to benefit a greater range of opportunity and capacity to provide highly technical services nationally and internationally. This would be of particular benefit in the tourism sector. Small businesses will be better able to compete and expand their customer range NBN provides opportunity to change service delivery models for Council and other services, particularly, health and education with the potential to enhance provision in terms of access and breadth of services available. The use of social media in delivering information will also be greatly improved. These effects have been demonstrated through research nationally and internationally. Specifically the Access Economics study undertaken on behalf of the Federal Government (November 2010) concluded that the growth effects following the introduction of broadband have been quite profound. There is no reason to suppose that the same will not be the case in the Surf Coast Shire. In conclusion from a Surf Coast Shire perspective the benefits in general will relate to improvements and accessibility for business development and operations. Improved access for the general community, particularly in the way of education, in home information /entertainment and increased tele-working. Mark Davies, Chief Executive Officer Surf Coast Shire The Colac Otway Shire is one of the most picturesque municipalities in Victoria, covering a diverse area from volcanic lakes, craters and plains in the north, through the hinterland forests of the Otway Ranges to the Great Ocean Road coastline. However critical to the sustainable success of the rural economy is the attraction of investment, new workers and population. Colac Otway Shire s economy is based on primary production, farming, forestry and the processing of products. There is untold opportunity for diversification of production and further treatment locally. Over the last five years the Shire has seen substantial investment in technology, automation and infrastructure across industry groups. One of the fastest growing sectors in the region is tourism and in Colac Otway Shire this sector generates more than $200 million per annum in the local economy. One of the fastest moving trends in tourism is on line tourism information and booking. Access to high speed broadband is essential to maintain the competitiveness of the tourism sector. It is vital to industry investment as the current unreliability of internet services in many parts of the Otways and coast is an impediment to business growth. For Colac Otway to be competitive in an age where the majority of transactions can take place over the internet, access to world standard telecommunications infrastructure is essential. The continued success of rural economies is dependent upon the local availability of knowledge workers who will lead local industry into new areas of growth. Attracting knowledge workers requires areas to have high liveability. Access to technology is a key factor in liveability. Colac Otway Shire must have high speed broadband as part of the liveability package. One of the limiting factors for the Colac Otway economy is its slow population growth. Liveability increases population growth and hence economic activity. If the industries are to remain competitive in the national and global market we need to meet the needs of people seeking a lifestyle change attract investment, new workers and population. These are vital to enable the economy of Colac Otway Shire to compete at state, national and global level. Mike Barrow, Manager Economic Development Colac Otway Shire /14 The National Broadband Network - Geelong: we re ready

15 Werribee GEELONG MELBOURNE Bannockburn CORIO BAY Avalon Airport PORT PHILLIP BAY Portarlington St Leonards Warrnambool l AUSTRALIA VICTORIA Colac Anglesea Ocean Grove Barwon Heads Torquay Pt Lonsdale Queenscliff VEHICULAR & PASSENGER FERRY Sorrento Aireys Inlet BASS STRAIT Lorne TWELVE APOSTLES Princetown g21 fast facts Apollo Bay Major Employers Employees (FTE) Barwon Health 3,498 Department of Education 3,012 Deakin University (Waurn Ponds & Waterfront) 1,486 City of Greater Geelong 1,403 Avalon Airport (all activities) 1,275 Ford Motor Company of Australia Ltd 1,237 Woolworths 1,012 Target Australia (Head Office & Retail Operations) 960 Catholic Education System 906 Karingal Inc 841 Transport Accident Commission (TAC) 715 Source: City of Greater Geelong. FTE Full Time Equivalent. Infrastructure Avalon Airport Geelong Port V/Line Road Network (Geelong Ring Road, Princes Highway, Surf Coast Highway, Bellarine Highway, Hamilton Highway, Midland Highway) Department Primary Industries (Queensclifff Research Centre) CSIRO Aust. Animal Health Laboratory CSIRO Materials Science & Eng. Geelong Technology Precinct Barwon Water Major Education Facilities Deakin University - Waurn Ponds Campus - Waterfront Campus Gordon Institute of TAFE Geelong Technical Education Centre Greater Geelong Regional Clinical School Marcus Oldham College Geelong Grammar School The Geelong College Kardinia International College Christian College Population growth Population Population Growth Rate Area Local Government Area /10 (%pa) (km 2 ) Greater Geelong (C) 220, , % 1,245 Surf Coast (S) 26,173 34, % 1,553 Queenscliffe (B) 3,314 3, % 9 Golden Plains (S) 18,625 24, % 2,704 Colac Otway (S) 22,097 23, % 3,433 Total (Barwon Region) 290, , % 8,944 Victoria 5,545,932 6,711, % 227,590 Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Estimated Resident Population, June Department of Sustainability & Environment, Victoria in Future Building Activity, Barwon Region 2008/ /10 % Change New dwelling approvals (No.) 2,065 2, % New dwelling approvals ($m) $469.3 $ % Non-residential building activity ($m) $345.7 $ % Source: City of Greater Geelong & the Building Commission. Median House Prices, 2009 Price % change City of Greater Geelong $305, % Surf Coast Shire $486, % Borough of Queenscliffe $580, % Golden Plains Shire $273, % Colac Otway Shire $236, % Victoria $360, % Source: LANDATA, Land Victoria, Department of Sustainability & Environment, A Guide to Property Values Labourforce (Estimate as at 30 June 2009) Number of People City of Greater Geelong 101,700 Barwon Region 134,000 Estimate based on data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006 Census of Population and Housing and Estimated Resident Population, as at 30 June Unemployment Rate (ABS 12 month average to June 2010) % Barwon Western District 5.2% Victoria 5.5% Health Services Barwon Health - Geelong Hospital - Grace McKellar Centre St John of God Hospital Geelong Private Hospital Geelong Private Medical Centre The Geelong Clinic St John of God Pathology Bellarine Community Health Colac Area Health Services Hesse Rural Health Service Major Tourism Assets Great Ocean Road Great Otway National Park Waterfront Geelong Regional Food & Wine Trails Bells Beach Geelong Botanic Gardens You Yangs Regional Park Brisbane Ranges National Park Geelong Art Gallery Geelong Performing Arts Centre National Wool Museum Ford Discovery Centre Journey to Work (ABS 2006 Census) No. of Commuters Barwon Region to Melbourne 11,100 Melbourne to Barwon Region 3,153 Major Industry Sectors Barwon Region No. of Employees % of Workforce Annual Output ($m) Manufacturing 15, % $13,807 Retail Trade 14, % $2,063 Health Care & Social Services 13, % $1,374 Construction 10, % $2,914 Education & Training 9, % $1,035 Accommodation & Food Services 7, % $945 Public Administration & Safety 6, % $844 Source: ABS 2006 Census & REMPLAN (Regional Economic Modelling and Planning System), June Connect Geelong: We re Ready /15

16 about g21 G21 - Geelong Region Alliance is the formal alliance of government, business and community organisations working together to improve the lives of people within the Geelong region across five municipalities Greater Geelong, Colac Otway, Surf Coast, Queenscliffe and Golden Plains. G21 works as a forum for regional issues across interest groups and municipalities resulting in better coordinated research, consultation and planning. G21 supports the delivery of projects that benefit the region across municipal boundaries and acts as a platform to speak with one voice to all levels of government. G21 is the Strategic Planning Committee for the Geelong region and is responsible for leading the development and implementation of the region s strategic plan. G21 works closely with, and provides advice to, Regional Development Australia (RDA), the Regional Management Forum (RMF) and also the Premier s Ministerial Regional Development Committee on the region s needs and priorities. The Alliance is made up of over 300 community leaders and specialists who are passionate about the future of the Geelong region and volunteer their time to be involved in G21 as Directors, Pillar members and within working groups. City of Greater Geelong - Economic Development, Planning & Tourism 2ND Floor, 131 Myers Street, Geelong Victoria 3220 PO BOX 104, Geelong Victoria 3220 Telephone: (03) Facsimile: (03)