The Geraldton Universities Centre (GUC) works in partnership with universities across Australia to support tertiary education delivery that meets Mid West student and industry needs. GUC's community-based model, the first of its kind in Australia, has drawn attention from regional communities throughout Australia with some now replicating the model.

The Durack Institute of Technology (Durack) offers more than 250 qualifications from Certificate 1 to Advanced Diploma level and was recently allocated RfR funding to develop a Centre for Training in the Resources Sector at the proposed Geraldton airport technology park, and a Health Sciences and Community Services facility and Aboriginal Learning Centre at the Fitzgerald Street campus in Geraldton.

The Mid West is one of the largest agricultural regions in WA. The region’s mainstay broad acre crops are wheat, canola and lupins. Cattle and sheep are the region’s dominant livestock, with poultry, pigs and goats also produced.

It is also host to the State's largest fishing sector with a dominant rock lobster industry, and an emerging aquaculture sector, including finfish and oysters. The region produces approximately one- third of Western Australia’s fishery.

Pearl aquaculture is well established in the Abrolhos Islands. Other aquaculture is developing in the region with several trials already undertaken or planned. Species trialled include yellow tail kingfish (YTK), snapper, mulloway, seahorse, octopus and ornamental fish at various scales.

The Gascoyne is known as a key food bowl. The Carnarvon Horticulture District is considered one of the best-managed irrigation districts in Australia and contributes 99.5 per cent of the total production value of Western Australian bananas.

In Australia, GeoRegions are single, unified geographical areas where sites and landscapes of geological significance are linked together around a central natural or cultural value. Their intended ‘bottom-up’ approach of combining conservation with sustainable development aims to involve local communities. The establishment of GeoRegions is a first exploratory step towards a potential nomination as a UNESCO Global Geopark.

Murchison GeoRegion Project, Western Australia. Western Australia’s Mid-West Development Commission (MWDC) is working with seven Councils to establish WA’s first major geotourism development to be built on a geotrail model, focused on the extensive Murchison GeoRegion of WA, located some 550 kms north of Perth. https://bit.ly/3fejIbA . The MWDC believes that the ancient Murchison geology provides the ideal platform for unique, nature-based tourism experiences of global significance, particularly to the ‘experience seeker / dedicated discoverer’ market.

The Mid West Tourism Development Strategy (2014) concluded that the region’s iconic nature-based tourist attractions were not developed to their potential and that its visitor appeal was not fully realised. The Strategy identified geotourism in the Murchison sub region as a potential ‘game changing’ tourism initiative, with capacity to help the region realise its potential as a major tourism destination.

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.

The Mid West has a diverse range of minerals and is also highly prospective for wind, wave, geothermal and biomass energy production and is increasingly recognised as having a role as a future energy hub including renewable hydrogen.

One of Australia's most diverse mining provinces that includes talc, gold, lead, tin, tantalum, zinc, heavy mineral sands, iron ore, copper, clays, pigments, nickel, vanadium, titanium, gypsum, chromite, platinoids, limestone, limesands and manganese ore.
Australia's first lead mine at Galena (Geraldine Lead Mine, 1849).

Home to the first iron ore mine in WA (Koolanooka, 1966).

Mount Magnet is the longest surviving gold mining settlement in WA.

The oldest and most productive talc mine in the southern hemisphere (second most productive in the world) is located in Three Springs.

Wilgie Mia near Cue is the oldest known mining operation in the world with excavations of ochre occurring for at least 40,000 years.

The world’s oldest rocks are located in the Mid West (in the Murchison subregion).

The significant radio quietness of the Murchison area was a key to Australia attracting part of the $2 billion (Euro) international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project (hosted jointly with South Africa).

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Astronomy and Space Science (CASS) has a presence in the Mid West through the $152 million Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO). The MRO will be a base for part of the SKA (the largest radio astronomy project ever developed) and a pre-eminent site for radio astronomy research and development.

CSIRO also operates the MRO Support Facility (MSF) in Geraldton.

The MSF provides support for CSIRO’s radio astronomy projects at the MRO. The MSF has access to super computer facilities at the Pawsey High Performance Computing Centre in Perth.

The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is also located at the MRO. Led by Curtin University, the MWA is an international collaboration between institutions in the US, Australia, New Zealand and India.

Both the existing ASKAP and MWA projects will be expanded from Australia's component of the SKA (stage 1).

The WA Space Centre near Mingenew was Australia’s first satellite park. The facility is owned and operated by Space Australia, a subsidiary of the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC).

There is so much to discover in the diverse Mid West region. A wealth of resources and natural beauty takes you on a journey through a range of industries. Here are a few examples:
• Closer to the coast, you will find the City of Greater Geraldton, Dongara, Kalbarri and the newly named national park, the Houtman Abrolhos Islands.
• The broad-acre farming land of the North Midlands awakens in spring with vibrant cascades of wildflowers across the breakaway country. These host one of the biggest open gardens in the world!
• The pristine coastline of the Batavia Coast and its rich coastal bounty includes the Western Rock Lobster of the Indian Ocean. A treasure of marine stories opens, full of courage and mutiny, to thrill all who dare discover them. A diverse culture of people and activities guarantees enjoyment to all who visit this region.

The Gascoyne region stretches across some 600km of pristine, postcard-perfect coastline that borders the Indian Ocean. This includes:
• The breathtaking, World Heritage area of Shark Bay. It is well known for its pearling history, sensational shell beaches, stromatolites and the dolphins at Monkey Mia.
• The Ningaloo Reef, Cape Range National Park showcases the world’s largest fringing reef bursting with marine life including the breathtaking whale sharks.
• The rich ochre reds of the desert country. The vast outback of the Upper Gascoyne leads to Mt Augustus, the largest monolith in the world, and the awe-inspiring Kennedy Ranges which are part of the Kennedy Range National Park.
• Carnarvon is a sub-tropical coastal town that sits on the banks of the powerful Gascoyne River. This fresh water river system enables the successful growth of a diverse agriculture industry, recognised as the ‘food bowl’ of Western Australia and is a regional hub for many outlining pastoralists. Carnarvon gained world recognition for playing a part as integral support with its Tracking Station, ensuring man landed successfully on the moon. Now a space museum is a major attraction in town.

The Meru Waste Disposal Facility (MWDF) in Geraldton is the only Class III landfill north of Perth and services a number of Mid West local governments. The City of Greater Geraldton's proposed Community Reuse and Recycling Centre also supports Geraldton and parts of the wider region. Significant further investment in facilities such as the MWDF is required to meet State recycling targets.

A priority for the region must be to optimise the use of regional waste as a resource, with a number of innovative solutions available. Achieving economies of scale remains a significant challenge for the region in regard to management of waste.

Monash University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a number of campuses, four of which are in Victoria, and one in Malaysia.

Manufacturing is the largest export industry for the Moreton Bay Region, valued at approximately $923.8 million. The region’s industrial precincts are Industry 4.0 enabled as they are either already connected to the National Broadband Network (NBN) or the rollout has substantially commenced. The region's proximity to major transport infrastructure and a skilled workforce provide the convenience of a major city without the high price tag.

Through our Economic Development Action Plan council is committed to supporting regional manufacturers to be more productive, increase their international competitiveness and access emerging growth opportunities in the Moreton Bay Region.
In the Moreton Bay Region you’ll find:
• Three major industrial hubs, including the Brendale Industrial Precinct, one of the top 10 places to work in Greater Brisbane.
• Access skilled workforce.
• Road and rail connections to the Port of Brisbane, Brisbane Domestic and International Airports, and Australia's newest international airport, the Sunshine Coast Airport.
• NBN connectivity in industrial precincts.
• Available and affordable industrial land.
• Development of Smart City infrastructure.
• $1.7 billion in local manufacturing sales.
• Raw input providers including timber plantations and saw mills, quarries and agricultural producers.
• Two large greenfield future industrial hubs on the last northern Bruce Highway interchanges.
• Innovative businesses embedded in local and global supply chains.

As community leaders, local governments have a responsibility to implement a range of initiatives to improve environmental resilience and support sustainability.

We look forward to sharing and learning from other Councils as we work together to reduce our impacts on the climate and build a better future for our children and grandchildren.

Many local governments have been acting on climate change across Australia for decades.

Our community have asked us to join the partnership and we want to involve them in this journey, use the resources provided by CPP and learn from other councils who are dealing with similar environmental issues that we all face.

By learning from others it will help us progress faster on our pathway to increasing resilience and adapting to our already changing climate.

Cultivate the Arts is a professional development program for locals in the creative sector including visual artists, crafters, musicians, theatre practitioners, dancers, arts workers and more.

The program invites local creatives to participate in a range of workshops and opportunities that support the continued growth and development of arts and culture within the Moreton Bay Region and showcase the region's talented and diverse community.

The Regional Economic Development Strategy 2020-2041 (REDS) provides the blueprint for Council, industry and the business community to collaboratively build a $40 billion economy by attracting and generating 100,000 new jobs for our region by 2041.

The REDS provides long-term economic direction for the region and drives innovation and entrepreneurship to position the Moreton Bay region as one of Australia’s top 10 regional innovation hubs by 2041.

The success of the REDS depends on collaboration and support from all stakeholders and the MBRC Economic Development team serves as the catalyst in maintaining this engagement.

Apprenticeships and traineeships are excellent examples of pathways into work that have proven to be effective. But they are specific to certain occupations.

Apprentices and trainees made up about 10 per cent of the pathways people take into the workforce. He said policymakers needed to create better vocational education and training (VET) courses to give young people stronger options outside universities and apprenticeships.

3.9 million people were enrolled in vocational education and training last year, but up to 2.4 million of those were in short courses such as first aid and construction safety.

The University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) is using The Mill at Moreton Bay to expand their presence in the region. The USC satellite campus in Caboolture has several research initiatives based in the north of the region. This research includes investigations into alternative health service delivery and a significant clinical trial site providing new capacity to accelerate the research and development of the next generation of medications and medical devices.

The Moreton Bay Region is also home to Queensland’s only aquaculture research facility. The CSIRO, DAF and USC are all based at the Bribie Island Research Centre and undertaking public and private research projects in this field.

Boasting an established clean and green agribusiness industry, the Moreton Bay Region provides farmers, exporters, processors, retailers, and chefs the ideal destination to succeed in this vibrant and growing industry.
The Moreton Bay Region’s access to major transport and infrastructure, combined with rich soils and a sub-tropical climate has contributed to the region’s thriving $846 million agricultural industry, with agricultural exports valued at around $420 million.
In the Moreton Bay Region you’ll find:
• The largest strawberry producing area in Australia.
• A $110 million berry fruits industry.
• One third of Australia's strawberries by weight.
• Over one quarter of Australia's pineapple crop.
• Queensland's only aquaculture research facility supporting CSIRO, DAF and University of the Sunshine Coast research projects.
• A sustainable future through the Wamuran Irrigation Scheme.
• Emerging agriculture trends like finger lime producers.
• Enabled agri-tech through the high-speed National Broadband Network.
• Production of more than 1,074 tonnes of macadamia nuts per year.
• Production of more than 441 tonnes of avocados per year.

The Mill at Moreton Bay Priority Development Area significantly contributes to the council’s vision for the region—to facilitate and support managed population and economic growth, jobs creation, and community healthcare and wellbeing.

Millovate invites property developers, operators and funds to invest in healthcare, wellbeing and related services being planned and delivered within a future Integrated Health Village at The Mill at Moreton Bay.

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.

City of Moreton Bay with Moreton Bay Region Industry & Tourism (MBRIT) have partnered to provide specialist innovation and growth services to foster the region's entrepreneurial spirit, under the revised Innovate Moreton Bay program.

Supporting the region’s start-ups, scale-ups and providing access to resources will enable locals, including our youth, to prosper and build the capability to compete successfully in global markets.

The Moreton Bay Region is known for its amazing natural attractions and experiences such as parks, waterways, wildlife centres, lookouts, beaches, museums and festivals, let us help plan your visit and make the most of our beautiful region. Here are some tips on the best spots to park, who to speak with, location of toilets, seating, pathways, and sensory considerations.