ISSUE 1 2012 VOL 3

Economic focus T HE L AT E ST E CO NO MI C D E V E LO P M ENT M AT T ER S FR O M

GRI FF IT H C IT Y COU NC IL ’ S E CON OM I C D E V E LO P M ENT UN IT

Major Projects for Griffith City

The 2012—2013 year will see the commencement of some high profile projects for Griffith City Council. Work will start on the re-development of the existing Airport Terminal facility for Griffith. This project has been fast tracked due to being successful during the Regional Development Australia funding round one.

The apron will be the first section to be expanded which will start in March. Work on the terminal will begin in May at the terminal entrance adjacent to the car park. This will be a staged development to limit disruptions to operations at the airport facility. Once the front section has been completed the internal sections will be shelled and fitted out. The Water Reclamation Plant will be

finalised during 2012 with construction nearing completion. The Water Reclamation Plant should be fully operational by the end of the year. The Workshop Depot on Jensen Road will also be upgraded. 2012 will also see progression of the new cemetery on Rifle Range Road.. This will be a long term project which will serve the needs of the wider community for many years to come.

Business Retention & Expansion Council is calling on all businesses to

become involved in the Business

Retention & Expansion Project..

The Economic Develop team will be conducting an extensive survey (Business Retention and Expansion Project) in the next few months to establish our economic business health, to find out from the business community what the biggest hurdles of operating a business today are; the current future labour needs and opportunities for business growth. This information will be treated as confidential and will provide the most

accurate snapshot of our Economic Diversification not just for 2012, but where we are likely to be in the next few years. In these t u r b u l e n t economic times it is important for Council to support its local business community. If we can better plan for future scenarios, we are better placed to lobby for funding, for changes to legislation and for projects which will support our

businesses now and into the future.

“ H o w c a n businesses have their say?; During March we will be contacting a s m a n y

businesses as possible including home based businesses, small to medium enterprises and large business in order to schedule a time to talk to you, be calling over the phone or alternatively you can complete the survey o n l i n e a t www.griffith.nsw.gov.au

This project will assist

Council in how we are

able to work with and

assist our local

business community.

GRIFFITH LABOUR

Market Update

The small area labour market—September

quarter shows unemployment is sitting on

6.1% a decrease since March 2011 where it was

6.6%.

The state average for the September quarter is 5.5%.

The number of people

receiving newstart allowance and youth

allowance in Griffith is 391 as of November 2011, this is very low compared with

other areas.

Property Market buoyant

Griffith’s Real Estate Market has

shown resilience with plenty of

willing buyers in the market.

Property transfer reports from

Griffith City Council show that in the

period of;

July, August, September in 2009

over 141 properties were sold. This

includes residential, commercial and

agricultural in the Griffith City

Council area.

The same time period for 2011

(July / August / September) shows

over 149 properties were sold.

The latest report in the September /

October / November property

transfer report shows 143 properties

were sold.

While the property market is very

much a buyers market, small gains

in the regional / non capital city

sales area rose by 0.3 per cent

according to information in an RP

Data – Rismark report.

Whilst the gain is small, combined

with recent rate cuts provides a bit

more comfort for most borrowers

and more incentives for investors.

2012 is a year in which some finance

gurus are predicting a property

comeback, the best time to buy is

now.

stats Western Riverina Region

How is our economy performing? - Size of the economy..

The Western Riverina Region

Gross Regional Product

represents $1,911 million (2011)

0.5% of New South Wales's

Gross State Product for the year

ending June 2011.

Information available on

Griffith City Council’s website

www.griffith.nsw.gov.au, click

on Developing Griffith,

Community Profile and select

the id product you want.

This chart is from Western

Riverina Economy id.

What will Griffith City Council’s household types look like in the future...

Regional Relocation Grant

Griffith has been chosen as one of 31

regional locations being promoted through

the NSW Government’s $7,000 Regional

Relocation Grant advertising

campaign.

The campaign aims to

promote the benefits of

moving to a regional area in

NSW and to raise awareness

of the relocation grant . The campaign will

run for 7 weeks from January 30 – 18

March.

If local business would like

more information about the

$7,000 Regional Relocation

G r a n t l o g o n t o

newlifensw.com.au. It could be

a strong selling point if

The workshop will allow

participants to become

more competitive in the

tender process.

WORK-

COVER NSW

WorkCover NSW will host free webinairs every week starting from 15th February to 4th April covering a number of topics. To find out more log onto W o rk C o ve rA ut h o rit y o f NewSouthWales.WHSwebinairs and register.

Free Webinairs

for business

Investment projects that

contribute to regional

population growth through

the creation of new jobs, or

in special circumstances

the retention of existing

jobs in a regional location.

The RIIF aims to encourage

business growth by helping

businesses overcome

i m p e d i m e n t s t o

investment projects that

will lead to the creation of

new jobs in regional NSW.

A p p l i c a n t s m u s t

demonstrate:

• the long term viability

of the project

• cost impediments

delaying or preventing the

project from proceeding

• a significant new

investment in operations

• a planned substantial

increase in new jobs as a

result of the project

Firms creating new jobs in

NSW may also be eligible

for payroll tax rebates

u n d e r t h e N S W

Government's Payroll Tax

Rebate Scheme - Jobs

Action Plan administered

by the Office of State

Revenue.

The Regional Industries

Investment Fund (RIIF) has

been established to drive

economic growth in

regional NSW as well as

e n h a n c i n g t h e

attractiveness of regional

areas. Financial assistance

is available under this Fund

for projects across regional

NSW, (excluding the

G r e a t e r S y d n e y

Metropolitan area) that

result in or promote

economic outcomes for the

State.

Business investment

projects

Support is available for

Assistance for growing your business New jobs and business growth is being rewarded by the State Government…...