Attracting skilled workers to fill employment gaps, monitoring real estate availability and providing opportunities for businesses to grow are all on the list of steps Dubbo Regional Council will take to help the city recover from COVID-19.
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In May, Dubbo mayor Ben Shields developed an Economic Recovery Taskforce to help the local government area bounce back fiscally from the impact of COVID-19.
Across six weeks, council representatives and industry leaders met to develop ideas around the city's economic recovery.
Council's manager development and economic marketing Josie Howard said different industries in Dubbo had been impacted in different ways from changing consumer habits to compulsory industry closures.
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"The real short term and long term impacts on the local economy are yet to be formally realised and understood, however, it is clear parts of the local economy are being majorly affected and any assistance that council could provide to the local community to get through what was shaping up to be the first Australian recession in 30 years would be very welcomed by the industry," Ms Howard said.
Following the meetings, three key areas have been identified for council to focus on: regional jobs, regional investment and industry recovery.
Aims for each category have been turned into the Dubbo Region Economic Recovery Strategy which will be implemented by council throughout the next 12 months.
A big goal of the strategy will be to market Dubbo as a hub for tourism and work.
When it comes to business and industry development and attraction, council's plan is to position the Dubbo region as "a centre for job-enabling infrastructure and proactive business development", while embracing opportunities for infrastructure investment.
Council also aims to offset the predicted recessional impact on the economy from COVID-19 through strong skills development that "supports future identified industry growth and focus on labour".
Local businesses in the LGA will also be encouraged to play their part with council encouraging "local purchasing practices with the business-to-business supply chains of the Dubbo region" and enhancing the "buy local behaviours of...residential and service area communities".