South Gippsland trades notes with Europe on life after coal

SOUTH Gippsland Shire mayor Cr Nathan Hersey has hosted a European delegation that spent five days examining how Gippsland can turn the end of coal into new local industries and finished the run in his own shire.

The International Urban and Regional Cooperation delegation was in the region from Monday August 17 to Friday August 21, with stops at Port Anthony, Fish Creek, Sandy Point and Meeniyan closing an itinerary that had opened at the Gippsland New Energy Conference in Traralgon.

Cr Hersey chairs regional advocacy body One Gippsland, which hosted the visit, and South Gippsland Shire councillor Cr Scott Rae and the shire’s chief executive Allison Jones also met the delegates.

“This is a whole-of-region change that touches our towns, workers, landholders, training providers, transport networks and established industries,” Cr Hersey said.

“Gippsland is not waiting for new industries to happen to us.

“We are actively shaping how change can deliver quality local jobs, stronger regional supply chains, skills, enabling infrastructure and genuine community benefit.”

The delegation was made up of Bremen government renewable energy and wind innovation manager David Meyer, Polish regional innovation expert Maciej Kolczynski, European Union delegation to Australia senior policy adviser Andrew Abel and IURC team leader Pablo Gandara.

They examined offshore wind, port use, transmission, the Marinus Link interconnector, low-carbon timber production, workforce development and regional supply chains, and set them against the transitions already underway in Germany and Poland.

One Gippsland hosted the delegation at Latrobe City Council, bringing board members and regional representatives together to discuss how Gippsland can retain local value from new investment while strengthening existing industries.

“I was particularly impressed by the openness, commitment and strong community focus of the people we met across Gippsland, as well as their willingness to share both successes and challenges,” Mr Kolczynski said.

“Seeing the region’s transition first-hand provided valuable insights into how collaboration, innovation and strong local involvement can help communities navigate major economic change.”

Earlier in the week the delegation took in the State Electricity Commission, Federation University, TAFE Gippsland, the Delburn Wind Farm, the Hazelwood mine rehabilitation site, Yallourn, the Latrobe Regional Airport and the Morwell Innovation Centre before moving through Wellington Shire.

Food and Fibre Gippsland chief executive Simon Johnson, who sits on the One Gippsland board, said food and fibre had to stay central to the region’s story.

“As new energy and infrastructure investment changes the region, agriculture will increasingly share land, workforce, freight and infrastructure with emerging industries,” Mr Johnson said.

“International exchange can help Gippsland learn from solutions already tested elsewhere, while showcasing the innovation and collaboration already happening across our food and fibre sector.”

Gippsland is one of only three Australian regions in the IURC program, which links Australian and European regions on clean energy, agrifood, the circular economy and regional innovation.

The visit came two months after One Gippsland took the region’s case to the World Cities Summit in Singapore.

“This is the next step in working towards a shared project between the EU and Gippsland,” Cr Hersey said.

“It will build on established relationships and the knowledge exchanged during the visit to support local jobs, skills, industries and communities across Gippsland.”