The food and beverage industry on the Gold Coast has evolved to have a real focus on specialised food for sports and health and wellness. Gold Coast companies such as Morlife, Amazonia and Pure Organic Meats are building a big name for themselves in this industry, both locally and internationally.

Local and unique produce is a fundamental element to the Gold Coast’s thriving culinary sector. Restauranteurs have access to a diverse range of produce all within a few hours drive of the city.

Pick up fresh prawns from the Gold Coast Fisherman’s Cooperative, straight from the trawlers at The Spit on the Broadwater, along with some artisan baked bread from specialist local suppliers.

Wineries and distilleries abound in the Gold Coast hinterland while our urban breweries continue to flourish. Paired with fine cheese and delicacies from our smallgoods producers, the nationally acclaimed produce also supports the local farming community.

The Gold Coast is home to a growing number of unique food producers including Salad Makers, Cocoluscious Ice Cream, Gotzinger, Goodman Fielder and many more.

The 200ha Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct (GCHKP) is Asia-Pacific’s emerging health and innovation hub.

We’re a unique global business location for high-tech industry development, research collaboration and jobs of the future—a vibrant mixed-used community in which to live, work, study and play.

From a vaccine for malaria to a cure for spinal cord injury, we’re looking beyond the horizon with bold ambition and game-changing ideas.

Supported by $5 billion in infrastructure, including the world-class Griffith University and two major hospitals, the GCHKP is also home to the COHORT innovation and co-working space, the Griffith Innovation Centre, the Queensland Academy of Health Sciences senior school, the Southport Sharks entertainment precinct with a boutique Mantra hotel and extensive parkland and greenspaces.

The Precinct offers a dynamic, collaborative work environment for global health and knowledge companies and organisations to invest, cluster and grow, with land development, leasing and co-working opportunities on offer in the Lumina commercial cluster.

Is Australia’s housing crisis self-inflicted? If so, then we need a series of reforms to reverse it
The best long-term solution to the structural problems of the rental crisis is to build more public and/or affordable housing.

Make renting more Sustainable. Increase rent assistance or look at rental caps, similar to countries in Europe and some US states, long term tenancy agreements with incentives for all parties to the agreement.

Build to Rent
The Build to Rent property sector is growing in Australia – this new class of housing is focused on providing high quality purpose designed and built rental stock, creating an additional housing choice for Australian renters with greater security and service.

Build to Rent developments are typically owned by institutional investors for the long term and the owner could be the developer/ongoing building manager. The format provides tenants with the flexibility of renting with the security of home ownership.

Build-to-Rent developments are usually large-scale residential properties specifically designed, built and managed for long-term ownership and rental.

Social Housing
In the 40 years between 1981 and 2021 the percentage of all Australian households living in social housing (i.e. state owned and managed public housing or community managed housing) has ranged from 4.9 per cent in 1981 to 3.8 per cent in 2021. Such a drop in the proportion of social housing raises the question of has Australia achieved the balance right, and also just what is the right level of social housing for Australia?

In 2018 Statistics Canada said 628,700 Canadian households, more than one in ten renter households nationally (13.5% of 4,652,500), were living in social and affordable housing.
In New Zealand, as of 30 June 2021, there were 74,337 public housing households. This equates to 4.0% of households living in social housing.

In England (in 2018) 17% of households (3.9 million) lived in social housing, while the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development publishes that 1.2 million households live in public housing, which is 0.98 per cent of all housing.

Our start-up economy is on the rise, with the Gold Coast ranked fifth in Australia for new business starts. Our innovative business culture positions us among the top six cities in Australia for lodging patent applications on a per capita basis.

Our support for start-ups has never been stronger with funding and grants designed to turn great ideas into commercial reality and take them to the world.

The Gold Coast is moving to establish our city as an entrepreneurial hub that is globally recognised as a place where knowledge, innovation and commercialisation are the key drivers of growth in the local economy.

A Gold Coast business, which was started in a garage 20 years ago, has been selected to participate in the Hunter-class frigate program.

The Australian Government and ASC Shipbuilding recently announced the commencement of feasibility studies to inform the opportunity for Australian industry participation in the program.

Craig International Ballistics was selected to conduct a detailed feasibility study to pilot its local manufacturing facilities, design and staffing skill sets for the potential supply of transparent and opaque armour systems and ship bridge windows.

The company was founded by Robert Craig in his family’s home in 1999, who started out providing body armour sets to the ADF.

Defence and Gold Coast company Gilmour Space Technologies have joined forces to work together on space technologies under a new strategic agreement.

The leading hybrid rocket launch provider is developing lower-cost, reliable and dedicated rockets to launch small satellites into low earth orbits.

The new partnership between Defence Science and Technology and Gilmour Space will research defence-related technologies including propulsion, materials and avionics technologies, to help develop a three-stage hybrid rocket that will launch small payloads and satellites.

Sport is part of the cultural identity of many Australians. Sport isn’t just a favoured pastime for Australians. It is a significant contributor to the Australian economy.

In Australia, sports and recreational organisations attract more volunteers than any other type of organisation.

Major sporting events – grand finals, international cricket, grand slam tournaments, surfing competitions and cycling challenges – as well as less watched events – weekend matches, morning and afternoon training sessions and amateur competitions – fill calendars and recreational time.

The Gold Coast is famed for its long sandy beaches, surfing spots and elaborate system of inland canals and waterways.

It’s also home to theme parks such as Dreamworld, Sea World and Wet’n’Wild. Inland, hiking trails crisscross Lamington National Park’s mountain ridges and valleys, home to rare birds and rainforest.

The region is famous for its attractive environment, climate and lifestyle and has a highly specialised economy that is dominated by the tourism industry.

The Gold Coast City and the community actively practise waste avoidance and other positive waste behaviours. Waste avoidance, re-use, recycling and recovery opportunities are maximised prior to landfill disposal. Our capacity to manage future waste is secured.

Climate change poses a potential range of threats and opportunities for mining regions around Australia. Recent studies have suggested that mine operations as well as the related infrastructure, businesses and communities associated with mining, may be affected by flooding, drought, bushfires, storms and sea level rise.

The Goldfields-Esperance is located in the south-eastern corner of Western Australia and is the largest region in the state with a land area of 950,449 square kilometres. The region is more than three times the size of the state of Victoria and over a third of Western Australia's total land mass. It is bounded by the Pilbara region to the north, the Mid-West and Wheatbelt region to the west, the Great Southern region to the south-west, the Southern Ocean to the south and the WA border to the east.

The region has a long, rich association with gold mining, being the premier producer for the state. Nickel also features with strong production and healthy reserves. Agriculture and gold-related tourism are also strong contributors to the region's economy, as well as fishing and aquaculture along the coastlines of Esperance and Ravensthorpe.

The Goldfields-Esperance region also has a rich history in agricultural and pastoral activities and a notable recreational and fishing industry. Southern parts of the region, including the Shires of Esperance and Ravensthorpe, contains its most valuable agriculture and fishing areas where the majority of the regions livestock and cropping occurs.

The Northern Native Seed Industry Development Initiative (NNSIDI) will support the creation of new and innovative seed production enterprises throughout the Pilbara, Goldfields Esperance, and the Kimberley. The native seed industry has potential to be a viable alternative to the current practice of wild harvesting.

Mining companies require vast quantities of native seed to meet their post-closure revegetation obligations and their demand for native seed is outstripping supply. As a result, remnant plant communities are coming under increasing pressure. Seed Production Areas (SPAs) can play a role in meeting this shortfall and boost economic development throughout regional Western Australia.

Esperance is already home to an emerging shellfish aquaculture industry. Wylie Bay Abalone is a joint venture abalone ranching project located in Wylie Bay,

Esperance operated by Ocean Grown Abalone and Ocean King Fishing. Through the construction of purpose-built artificial abalone reefs, Ocean Grown Abalone produces commercial-scale quantities of premium, ‘wild-harvested’, Greenlip abalone.

The mining sector is critical for the Goldfields. Gold and nickel mining operations define the Goldfields region and provide the foundation for many of its settlements. The exploration, extraction and processing of these resources through well-established supply links continue to underpin the prosperity of the region.

A top-tier mining jurisdiction, the Goldfields- Esperance region is one of the most resource rich areas on the planet. It is home to a suite of critical materials - lithium, cobalt, vanadium, tantalum, nickel and graphite - used to produce energy storage devices, such as lithium-ion batteries. The region also possesses non-battery minerals used in the manufacturing of electric vehicles and energy storage systems, including significant deposits of rare earths.

The Goldfields-Esperance region is already an established and expanding producer of some of the key minerals for the global lithium-ion battery supply chain. Current Goldfields-Esperance lithium mining operations include the Bald Hill project near Kambalda, the Mount Marion project near Coolgardie and Mount Cattlin in the Shire of Ravensthorpe.

A number of locations around the region have been shortlisted for possible lithium refinery.
The Mount Weld mine, near Laverton, ranks as one of the richest major rare-earth deposits in the world.

Lynas Corporation, which operates Mount Weld, has announced its intention to develop an upstream processing plant in the Goldfields in a move that will further consolidate the region’s position as one of the premier rare earths producing jurisdictions outside of China.

The Goldfields-Esperance region is located in the south-eastern corner of Western Australia and is the largest region in the state with a land area of 771,276 square kilometres.

A variety of established and developing trails helps you, the visitor, connect to our heritage, culture, arts, mining, gem collecting, genealogy, nature and environment through places such as the ghost town of Kanowna, the Great Western Woodlands, Coolgardie' Mother of the Goldfields', and more.

The 965km Golden Quest Discovery Trail or the Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail are just a couple of ways to experience our history.

Our Local Governments play a key role in Australia's efforts to minimise waste and reduce emissions. Together we will continue to seek more sustainable solutions for our region.

In 2022-23, the GVROC Regional Climate Alliance will investigate more feasible and environmentally friendly options for regional waste solutions.

We will develop a regional strategy and promote best practice solutions in our region.

Is Australia’s housing crisis self-inflicted? If so, then we need a series of reforms to reverse it
The best long-term solution to the structural problems of the rental crisis is to build more public and/or affordable housing.

Make renting more Sustainable. Increase rent assistance or look at rental caps, similar to countries in Europe and some US states, long term tenancy agreements with incentives for all parties to the agreement.

Build to Rent
The Build to Rent property sector is growing in Australia – this new class of housing is focused on providing high quality purpose designed and built rental stock, creating an additional housing choice for Australian renters with greater security and service.

Build to Rent developments are typically owned by institutional investors for the long term and the owner could be the developer/ongoing building manager. The format provides tenants with the flexibility of renting with the security of home ownership.

Build-to-Rent developments are usually large-scale residential properties specifically designed, built and managed for long-term ownership and rental.

Social Housing
In the 40 years between 1981 and 2021 the percentage of all Australian households living in social housing (i.e. state owned and managed public housing or community managed housing) has ranged from 4.9 per cent in 1981 to 3.8 per cent in 2021. Such a drop in the proportion of social housing raises the question of has Australia achieved the balance right, and also just what is the right level of social housing for Australia?

In 2018 Statistics Canada said 628,700 Canadian households, more than one in ten renter households nationally (13.5% of 4,652,500), were living in social and affordable housing.
In New Zealand, as of 30 June 2021, there were 74,337 public housing households. This equates to 4.0% of households living in social housing.

In England (in 2018) 17% of households (3.9 million) lived in social housing, while the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development publishes that 1.2 million households live in public housing, which is 0.98 per cent of all housing.

Climate change is likely to impact on the Ballarat community over the coming decades. There are expected changes in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, changes to the water cycle affecting agriculture and other key industries, and concerns about the ongoing threat of natural disasters such as bushfires and floods. In terms of a growing population, the impact of such changes can have increasingly significant impacts.

Australia’s per capita production rate of greenhouse gases is one of the highest in the world. It is estimated that by improving the way we design, build and live, Victorians could save at least 50% of the energy that we use. As part of being an informed community, Ballarat needs to play its part by moderating its contribution to climate change/ reducing carbon emissions, and work to become more resilient to climate change impacts.

Recognised as a UNESCO City of Craft and Folk Art, Ballarat is the perfect place to switch off and choose your own analogue adventure.

Horsham Regional Art Gallery has an impressive collection of Australian photography and contemporary art. The Ararat Regional Gallery hosts a dynamic textile collection while the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery is home to a stunning collection of Australian colonial, goldfields and contemporary art.

The Museum of Australian Democracy Eureka, on the site of the Eureka Stockade, is Australia’s newest museum dedicated to democracy. The Eureka Flag, is on loan from the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, is the centrepiece of the museum’s exhibitions.

The Grampians hosts a range of festivals including the iconic Stawell Gift, the Horsham Awakenings Festival, Nati Fringe Festival, Grampians Grape Escape food and wine festival, Daylesford Chill Out, Clunes Back to Booktown, Ballarat Heritage Weekend, Grampians Wildflower Festival, the Ararat Jailhouse Rock Festival, the Grampians Jazz Festival, the Ballarat Beer Festival and the Ballarat Royal South Street competitions.

Stretching from the western edge of Melbourne to the South Australian border, the Grampians region includes the major townships of Edenhope, Nhill, Warracknabeal, Horsham, Stawell, Ararat, Beaufort, Ballarat, Bannockburn, Daylesford and Bacchus Marsh.

Steeped in gold rush history the Grampians is home to Sovereign Hill, the Silo Arts Trail and natural attractions including the Grampians National Park, Mt Arapiles and the Little Desert National Park.

Agriculture and food production are major industries across the Grampians, with extensive dryland farming in the Wimmera Southern Mallee sub-region. Opportunities across the region include artisanal food and beverage production, broad acre intensive cropping and diversified agriculture.

The Grampians region is positioned to capitalise on renewable energy, manufacturing, tourism and intensified agriculture production.

Ballarat is home to two major tertiary institutions – Federation University and Australian Catholic University Ballarat Campus – renowned for courses in nursing, education, IT, engineering, science and much more. Federation University also has its accompanying TAFE school based in the centre of town.

Agriculture is one of the largest employers in the Grampians region, employing 7,804 people and producing outputs worth $2.3billion.

The region is one of the world’s largest grain, pulse and oilseed growing regions and exports about 60 per cent of the total harvest. The regional economy is heavily reliant on agricultural production, which contributes millions of dollars each year to the Victorian economy and is fundamental to Horsham’s strength.