Bingara and District Vision 20/20

Hansard & Papers " Legislative Assembly " 6 November 2007 " Full Day Hansard Transcript " Item 37 of 43 "
Bingara and District Vision 20/20
About this Item
Speakers - Torbay Mr Richard
Business - Private Members Statements, PRIV

BINGARA AND DISTRICT VISION 20/20
Page: 3568

Mr RICHARD TORBAY (Northern Tablelands-Speaker) [5.51 p.m.]: One thing that country communities prize above all is their identity and their autonomy. It is the glue that holds them together in the best and worst of times. That is why they will fight tooth and nail to preserve it and fiercely resent any outside influence that threatens it. This was the situation facing Bingara, a small town in my electorate, through a council amalgamation in 2004, which saw it joined with Warialda, part of Barraba and the Yallaroi shire to form the Gwydir Shire Council. This merger created great concern amongst community leaders in Bingara, a town with unique character, which they thought would be lost and subsumed into a larger entity.

Rather than accepting what they saw as the inevitable, a core group, including supermarket proprietor Ric Hutton, grazier Garry McDouall, publican Eric Ozols and Carmen Southwell, initiated the town's fight-back. They called their group Bingara and District Vision 20/20 with the aim of building on the town's strength and making it self-sustaining in energy, water and food production by the year 2020. It is also focused on building tourism, regional conferences and educational opportunities as a base for future prosperity. The Bingara group strongly backed the successful Gwydir learning region project, which took a holistic approach to education in the region, providing education and training opportunities for people of all ages in the shire area. The initiative targeted courses to meet local skills shortages and, as a result, many mature-age people were trained in child care, aged care, tourism, guiding and information technology, along with younger students at school and TAFE.

These opportunities have encouraged people to stay in the local area rather than leave to find work. Unlike many comparable country towns which have experienced population decline, Bingara increased its population by 35 to 1,207 between the 2001 and 2006 census. This is a very positive outcome and it is attributed largely to the Gwydir learning region initiative. More good news was delivered a few weeks ago. Years 11 and 12 will be offered at Bingara Central School, which will open many flexible options for local students to complete their education in their home town. The tourism initiative is also on target, with the Vision 20/20 group producing a brochure and a website as part of its five-year strategic plan. Just last week the Minister for Regional Development, the Hon. Tony Kelly, allocated $20,000 over two years to extend the website as a marketing and communication tool for Bingara and its surrounding district. Local businesses, enterprises and community groups are being invited to join the venture.

One of the jewels in the Bingara crown is the Roxy Theatre, an unused cinema that closed in 1958 and underwent a million dollar upgrade and refurbishment in 2004 through funding from the shire council and the State and Federal Governments. It is now used by a local theatre group, for travelling performances, to show movies and as a thriving conference centre. The Bingara and District Vision 20/20 group has been able to attract many workshops, meetings and conferences because Bingara is strategically located at the centre of the north-west region. The group has adopted the theme of regeneration in both its environmental and economic development sense. It has attracted a grant of $10,000 for its Riverscape project to beautify and replant an area at the northern end of Maitland Street as a recreational area for the town and as a tourist attraction. In May next year Bingara and District Vision 20/20 and Gwydir Shire Council are planning a regeneration week culminating in the regeneration show at the weekend. It will showcase alternative energy, housing and building design, regenerative agriculture, recycling and community education.

Another ambitious project is the Bingara Farm Gardens, a theme park to exhibit the diverse agricultural industries, native vegetation, soil types and bush foods of the local area. Part of the plan includes a commercial market garden to supply local businesses and to make the venture sustainable. As well as a market venture it will become a tourist attraction and a valuable resource for researchers and historians. There are many plans and proposals in the pipeline for this very active and enthusiastic group and community. It is an example of the initiative and sense of community that thrives in country regions. I call on the Government to continue to back and encourage such ventures as Bingara and District Vision 20/20, as it is a prime example of how local people can find local solutions to local problems.