Mount Alexander fuels the rise of wellbeing economics across Australia’s regions

Following the trend of regional Victorian local governments doing things a bit differently, Mount Alexander Shire Council will this week launch its new Economic Development Strategy (EDS) in the art deco surrounds of Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal. In mid-October, at the Economic Development Australia conference, the strategy won an award for its contribution to equity, diversity, and inclusion. The award particularly cited its focus on building a wellbeing economy that benefits local people, the local area and the environment, as well as its strong engagement with the local First Nations community. The strategy opens with a welcome from Uncle Rick Nelson, a Djaara Traditional Owner, who writes powerfully of the links between Indigenous knowledge and practice and environmental, social and economic wellbeing:

Before European colonisation, the natural places within Djaara Djandak were well known, had names and songs, and were celebrated as part of our culture. We had an economy, a political system, and the resources and means to care for our community. This strategy recognises that the idea of a ‘wellbeing economy’ is not new and that First Nations peoples have been looking after Djandak and the wellbeing of our communities for millennia.

Mount Alexander’s work comes on the heels of a similar initiative by Golden Plains Council to its south, which released its Growing Places Strategy for consultation a week prior to Mount Alexander’s award win. The Growing Places Strategy is a broader, more holistic look at planning for future housing and population growth than Mount Alexander’s effort, but aims to do the exact same thing: to direct growth to where it is best suited, will deliver the most benefits to the current and future community, and protect the places and lifestyles that the community loves. Golden Plains’ work was covered byLGiU in April, where it was placed in the context of a global movement toward the wellbeing agenda, and held up as an example for other councils to follow.

From ‘what’ to ‘how’

Mount Alexander is clear about the challenges the community faces. Like any good EDS, theirs starts with community engagement, eliciting priority issues including accessibility and transport, housing and cost of living, and inclusion and diversity. In response to these issues, the EDS outlines a list of objectives that, taken together, comprise a pretty inspiring picture of the kind of place the shire aspires to be, and the way it wants its economy to work. Some, such as ‘support local enterprises and organisations’ and ‘create thriving local precincts and neighbourhoods’, are more or less common sense. Others, like ‘enhance resilience and adaptability in people, enterprise and industry,’ demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the challenges a modern EDS is required to confront. We are particularly excited about the references to community wealth building, and the objective to ‘grow local community wealth building’, with associated actions including local procurement, local funding models and the use of Council and community assets for innovation and wellbeing business models. The community wealth building model is something we have been working on for a while, which we think offers real, actionable directions for Australian councils that want their local economies to work better for people, place, and planet.

If there’s one thing missing from Mount Alexander’s EDS, it is a description of how they can achieve what they’ve set out to do. There are good reasons for this, including the election of a number of new councillors in the recent Victorian local government elections who may or may not be on board with the directions that have been articulated. The strategy notes that actions will be developed as part of a new Council Plan, as well as annual Action Plans that will sit under the goals, objectives and strategic areas that have been specified. Yet so often it is the transition from ambition to practice that stumps wellbeing advocates – particularly regional local governments, which already face a mismatch between the amount they are expected to deliver for their communities and the amount of funding they have available to do so.

A real wellbeing agenda takes four things. Firstly, you need to think carefully about your aims, and ensure the community is purposively involved in their development. Then, tell a story about which locals can get excited. Thirdly, look at the data, and see what it can tell you about strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities in relation to these aims. Finally, develop some bold, tangible actions that Council can take. These need not rest on Council alone – the most transformative actions come from partners, such as anchor institutions in the local economy, working in a concerted way to amplify their impact.

Mount Alexander is somewhere between steps (3) and (4). Its EDS has been rightly lauded for its clear articulation of a place-based approach to a wellbeing economy, and in this regard, should serve as a model for other municipalities. As it moves into the hard work of implementation it should look to regional, national, and international examples of creative measurement and ambitious action.

Comment

Mount Alexander’s award-winning EDS continues the trend of regional Australian local governments wishing to pursue a wellbeing economy. In large part this reflects the unique challenges facing regional economies and communities, especially environmental and climate risks, increasingly isolated and ageing populations, economic transitions away from primary production and basic manufacturing toward more complex, knowledge- and technology-intensive activities, and the draining of human and financial capital away from rural towns and villages toward urban centres. Community wealth building, which has a strong, global record of success, is an action agenda that would assist Mount Alexander Council to implement its wellbeing ambitions.

For more information on this briefing contact LGIU Australia by emailing [email protected]