An Enthralling Bricks & Mortar Journey

“Hey we got to go into the store on the corner, they’ve got a football field in the middle of it, I bet I can score more goals then you.” “Not before we go into this dress shop I just got a text saying they’ve just received a new range from my favourite designer in my size, I got to see what it looks like on me on their life size interactive screen”. “I just got a text too; we can get 2 coffees for the price of one just across the street”.

Will this be East Street, Rockhampton in a few years? One hopes something like this will happen. In a way it’s got to. More competition for shopper’s dollars will drive it. Competition like a Westfield Shopping Centre with two hundred plus shops, 3000 brands, open 24 hours a day seven days a week with trolleys ready now to take Central Queenslanders money. This is no aspiration for the future it’s here. Didn’t you notice it getting built; after all it’s a huge site. In fact Westfield declared it was ready for business with a full page advertisement in last Saturday’s paper.  Not a bricks and mortar shopping centre an online shopping centre. On-line shopping, how convenient is that. And it is going to get even easier to do, as technology continues to delve into the realms of science fiction. The 2002 movie “Minority Report” is now practically reality, well the shopping part anyway.  Apparently you’ll be able to buy online just by putting on a pair of glasses, no computer screen needed. Will online shopping (or e-commerce) be a nail in the coffin of bricks and mortar stores or energises them. What will the shopping centre of the future look like and what of locally owned stores?  I’m no shopaholic, but my general observation of shopping centres is that they’re pretty much the same.  The size may vary but the general mix of tenants in all centres is pretty much the same, national stores and franchises.  A walk around any regional city CBD however reveals stores you don’t find in shopping centres.  Sure it might be a rent issue, but maybe because of it CBD shopping can reveal a surprising variety of shops, products and services.  Shopping can be just going to pre-determined destinations to buy particular products.  It can also be a journey, a social occasion, interacting with people, making unplanned visits to stores and purchases.  Thus I see the challenge for retailers, particularly local businesses is to make this journey enthralling, maybe even enchanting.  Technology is going to continually raise the benchmark of what enthralling is.  Awesome service and competitive pricing will also be essential for local shops to survive.  However hasn’t this always been the case?  Online shopping can be viewed as a threat or an opportunity. Westfield decided to go online because of the threat of online stores like E-Bay, but now they see it as an opportunity to expand into markets like Central Queensland without building a physical centre. Personal experience with a local business threatened by cheaper online stores provided a surprising result. After they got their e-commerce web site built, and with some promotion through Facebook not only did they start getting online orders but visitation to their bricks and mortar store also increased. The variety of stock their web site revealed resulted in more people dropping into the store, paying more than they could have online. It’s got to the point the business has employed an additional team member.  There will always be shoppers who want to enjoy the journey as much as their purchases.  The journey will quite likely evolve to standing in front of life size screens waving your hands around to see what you look like in the latest fashions with the co-ordinating accessories, clicking the Facebook link to get friends opinions before making a purchase.  A sports store (or any store) having a digital football (soccer) field on the floor encouraging the customer to play a game with a digital ball.  An enthralling journey, that’s the challenge for local retailers.  Provide an off-line experience that shoppers enjoy, they’ll go online and let others know.  Being unique provides the locally owned and operated business the opportunity to stay open on and off line. If you’re a retailer what kind of future are you going to create for your customer?

What's the Plan for the Region

Trundle, ever heard of it?  Up to a few weeks ago I hadn’t, but this town in NSW of less than 500 people now has its own weekly national television show – Country Town Rescue.  To attract people to live in their dying town five homes were offered at a $1 a week rental.  This raw reality program demonstrates what a community can do to keep their small country town just that, hopefully for the next five, ten, fifty years.

While definitely not a dying region I wonder that the Rockhampton region needs to do to attract more people to live here.  Could towns like Marlborough, Bajool, Westwood or Mount Morgan benefit from a Trundle like initiative?  Or is the plan to sit on our hands as more services leave these towns encouraging people to leave for the bigger centres, all in the name of efficiency.

 What is the plan for the whole of the Rockhampton region?

The Council has a vision for the region to be the most liveable community in the world. However their website gives little detail. (Just finding the vision statement in the website is a challenge.)  Does everyone in the region buy into this vision anyway?  This to me has been the biggest failing of amalgamation for our region; the lack of a plan on how to include all the communities that make up the Rockhampton Region to truly feel a part of it.  The Name for the regional council was wrong.  Changing it though is maybe not the most prudent use of rate money’s.  The top down approach Council seems to be taking rather than a bottom up (grassroots) approach is wrong.  For people to buy into a forced amalgamation they need to feel their views are heard.  Council did conduct their “Be Heard” workshops but I understand only 51 recommendations were received.  A sign that more work needs to be done to encourage people to feel a part of the region and thus more willing to contribute. To assist we need a slogan that reflects positively on the whole region.  Extending Rockhampton City Beef Capital of Australia title to the whole region is a big brother top down approach and not the answer.  Perhaps a competition could be conducted to gain grass roots input for a slogan and hopefully acceptance of it.  A slogan will help in the region’s branding, giving people a reason to think more about Rockhampton region.  If Council does nothing and brands like Great Keppel Island Resort, Zilzie Bay, and Gracemere develop their own separate image without a blanket regional slogan then the fracturing will continue.  Just look at Las Vegas, with all the multi million dollar casinos, hotels, resorts, ego’s, etc., one unifying statement brings it all together, - ‘what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’. That was planned, it didn’t just happen.

Amalgamation has not been perfect, but was it perfect before?  The next Council needs to bring a new approach to the way amalgamation is managed; de-amalgamation is not the solution to the current problems.  New thinking is needed and a plan on unifying all the communities that make up Rockhampton region needs to be prepared.  Our region is changing; we can manage the change or sit by and see what happens. Much like what has happened for the past ten years or more.  Inaction that now sees the Rockhampton Region not benefitting as much as it should from the current resource boom.  Fail to plan, then plan to fail.  Before all the Mayoral candidates fall over their feet to say they are in favour of de-amalgamation in an effort to win votes, I urge them to look for new ways to make amalgamation work.  In the long term I believe amalgamation will make us all stronger.  Strong leadership and a willingness to listen are needed.  Maybe like the LNP did with Campbell Newman, bring in someone new without the baggage, without the old prejudices.  It’s going to take some time to achieve, but if we all feel part of our region, part of a unifying plan and vision, then together we will all be stronger communities and region for it.  Something Trundle I believe will become with its warts and all portrayal of living in a country town.

Make One of the Lights at the End of the Tunnel a Train

Be interesting to see if any of the Mayoral aspirants respond to this column with their aspirations.

A producer of Sixty Minutes was on the phone to the Mayor’s office, “we want to do a feature story on Rockhampton, a city that despite being in the heart of Australia’s greatest ever resource boom is identified as one of the ten most disadvantaged cities in Australia.  We feel there is an interesting story here and want to get local perspectives on the reasons behind this.  Would the Mayor be available for an interview?”

How would our five Mayoral aspirants handle that scenario?  An opportunity to sell Rockhampton, or make excuses and pass blame for poor planning, or simply decline the national television exposure.  If the opportunity was accepted how would the next Mayor respond to the following questions (especially if asked during Beef Week)?

(i)                   Do you believe persisting with the Beef Capital of Australia slogan has negatively affected people’s perception of Rockhampton as a place to re-locate to?

(ii)                Why hasn’t the Council been more pro-active in fighting for the early roll out of the National Broadband Network (NBN)?

(iii)               Why in a region screaming out to fill jobs does Rockhampton have an unemployment rate of approximately 7%?

(iv)              Why do 10000 people want to de-amalgamate from the Council?

(v)                If the resource boom were to end tomorrow, what would be Rockhampton’s future?

(vi)              It’s been described as the gap in the Queensland map.  Why is that?

(vii)             Why should people consider moving to Rockhampton to live?

(viii)           What is Rockhampton doing to attract new industry/jobs to Rockhampton?

(ix)              Why in the eye of the resource boom are property prices flat?

Hopefully the next Mayor in this scenario would accept the opportunity and see the national coverage offered as exactly that, an opportunity.  An opportunity to start reversing the negative image created from previous national coverage Rockhampton received of last years flood.  Despite being seemingly behind the eight ball in comparison to other centres in Central Queensland, like Mackay, Gladstone and Emerald and a high percentage of disadvantaged in the community, in the right light and with genuine enthusiasm these apparent weaknesses can become our strengths.  Rockhampton region has people wanting work; Rockhampton region has affordable housing; Rockhampton region offers both sea change and tree change lifestyles; Rockhampton region has the chance to learn from other regions mistakes as it actively pursues opportunities its geographic position provides.

Of course the Sixty Minutes reporter would be trying to paint a picture of poor planning, poor leadership, a region grown reliant on government incomes and spending; but a vibrant Mayor brimming with genuine enthusiasm could positively respond to the above questions, not dwelling on the past, but projecting an image of a region ready to go forward, ready to meet the new challenges that lay ahead. A Mayor that’s not weighed down with baggage, but one with a new set of eyes, has a long term plan and will persistently fight to see solid foundations are correctly laid. 

The Mayor would be a salesperson for the region that through their enthusiasm inspires others to get involved at grass roots level eager to help lay the solid foundations for the community.  A salesperson that inspires others to live, work, play and invest in the region.  A salesperson that sees the national exposure a Sixty Minutes interview would offer as part of a platform to build a new dynamic vibrant image of Rockhampton region. 

Let’s hear more about the Mayoral candidate’s aspirations for our regions future than who didn’t do what so many years ago. We’re in a new era, with new challenges, new opportunities.  It’s time Rockhampton region embraced a new direction and dared to dream big.  Hopefully one of the five Mayoral aspirants agrees and sees one of the lights at the end of the tunnel is a train; a fast train travelling between Rockhampton and Gladstone, and eventually west out to Alpha and beyond.  

Demonstrate Our Attention at Election Time

3:30pm, as if on cue the afternoon south easterly picked up.  Being a fresher breeze meant it was going to be worse today.  Though hard to see in the air, it could be noticed on the once white roofs of homes in Keppel Sands and on top of windscreen wipers of cars parked along Lakes Creek Road.  Fine coal dust blown in off the hills of coal to be loaded onto the giant ships parked in Keppel Bay waiting their turn to berth at Balaclava Island Port. 

Is this an aspiration we want for the Capricorn Coast and Rockhampton?  Maybe it is for some; a sign of progress, jobs, economic growth.  The coal dust would be something we would just have to put up with.  Possible health concerns would be constantly debated just like adding fluoride to the water. 

Last week I questioned if there was a plan/vision for Queensland, particularly Central Queensland or if we were jumping on any bandwagon to help address the debt levels no matter the possible long term detriments.

Today we have a chance to say what kind of future we do aspire to.  Many of us will do the same as previous, some will change their preference and some will draw a smiley face, doodle, write obscenities, or just leave the vote blank.  This will be a sign of protest by some.  Others it’s just an indication of a lack of interest or belief things won’t change with or without their vote… which is a pity, as it basically gives permission to the south east corner decision makers to continue to make decisions that allow FIFO, discharges into our waterways, peoples right to object to zoning changes to be quashed, accommodation crisis to escalate, investment in necessary infrastructure to be ignored and perhaps coal dust to blow over a large part of the Rockhampton region.  Whose aspiration for CQ is this? 

In all the negativity and even defeatism of the election campaign have the major parties indicated what their big picture vision is for Central Queensland.  Or is it just to continue as the income generator for the State.

Supposedly the Council’s vision for the Rockhampton region is to be the most liveable community in the world.  It is hard to find evidence to show how they are working towards this lofty goal though.  A super dump mooted for in Yeppoon, and an industrial estate mooted to be built beside residential homes, little interest in the National Broadband Network and potentially coal dust blowing in on a south easterly are hardly an indication this goal is really considered.  In my first letter to the editor I proposed a tri- city concept for Gladstone, Rockhampton and Capricorn Coast. A work, live and play destination: a destination that with the appropriate infrastructure would attract people, taking pressure off the south east corner.  Unfortunately in elections you don’t hear of visions/aspirations, only how bad the alternative is.  It’s got to change, but for change to happen it has got to come from us. Show the politicians we do give a damn and that we expect them to be more accountable.

If your pro-development, anti-development; pro asset sales or anti asset sales; pro amalgamation or anti amalgamation; young or old, demonstrate today that you are interested in what is happening in our region, in CQ by making a valid vote.  By demonstrating our interest in the future of CQ we have a better chance to make the politicians, when they meet in George Street, think twice about the decisions they make about CQ. We have a better chance of finding an acceptable balance between development, lifestyle and the CQ our children and grand children are to inherit.  Our politicians must be made aware that we can’t be taken for granted, that CQ can’t be just milked but not fed.  Barack Obama said, “…. if people are paying attention, then we get good government and good leadership.  And when we get lazy as a democracy and civically start taking short cuts, then it results in bad government and politics”.

If there is to be a change of government let it be known from day one that the people of CQ are paying attention and will not tolerate shortcuts in the decisions they make, particularly the ones affecting us.

The future is not too see it is too create. Make a valid vote today that indicates the future for CQ you aspire to see created.

Backcasting Helps Make the Forecasting A Reality

It was slick, built for speed, a closer inspection revealed the Monaro inspiration in the design.  The Premier, Mayor and dignitaries tightly grouped together for the media photo.  With a large pair of scissors the Premier cut the ceremonial ribbon to signify the bullet train service between Rockhampton and Gladstone was ready for passengers.  The aspiration was finally a reality.

I’ve generally used this column to highlight aspirations that I believe will help make Central Queensland a vibrant dynamic region, even after the resource boom ends.  A kind of forecasting what the future could be like. However this alone is not enough to stimulate action to make an aspiration a reality.  In some cases this column has stimulated some talk, but no tangible results.  Instead of just forecasting some backcasting is needed to help achieve these aspirations.  With words I’ve painted a picture and described a need for aspirations like a bullet train, a webisode series for Mt. Morgan, a wave pool for the Yeppoon foreshore, even a home for 4 Gladstone children to live in.  With a goal in mind one needs to work backwards to identify what needs to be done to achieve it – backcasting.

This week I attended a meeting and heard how a million dollar donation was secured from a single donor.  How it was achieved was from a lot of good planning, preparation and having faith in the six degrees of separation notion.  The idea that everyone is on average approximately six steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person. Knowing someone, who knows someone etc that ends up with contact made with a person who can help realise the goal/aspiration.

Reaching the desired decision maker is only part of it, making the best of the contact is also vital.  As a former supervisor told me there’s no such thing as good luck: fortunate moments occur when good preparation meets opportunity.

So how can backcasting be used to achieve an aspiration?  Identify who are the people needed to be convinced to make a favourable decision on the aspiration.  Politicians maybe one, but who puts all the requests for support on their desk and decides which one is on top of the pile.  What bureaucrats produce the reports for the politician’s considerations?  Once identified, determine who knows someone that may know someone who knows the targets.  What is your pitch, when you make the opportunity to meet them?  Be prepared with the facts, figures, costings, benefits, leverage opportunities, petition of support, a plan B if a compromise is necessary, a hard copy to give, etc.  Have a follow up strategy planned and implement it.  Sure it’s not going to be an easy process, but it will probably be more effective than just writing a column in the daily paper about it.

If anyone would like to help me use backcasting to help achieve some or all of the aspirations mentioned above I would appreciate you contacting me.  Especially the urgent one of finding a home for 4 Gladstone children by May.

It may just involve talking to the person beside you on the next plane flight as the speaker at the meeting illustrated.  Introductions revealed the person beside the speaker owned a business and after listening to the speakers pitch the business owner offered to hold regular fund raising BBQ’s at his workplace to raise funds for the charity the speaker represented.  The speaker thanked him for his offer, but also politely asked if he write a letter of introduction to his major clients and suppliers.  The six degrees of separation process of reaching another million dollar donor had started again.

A HEC's on Mine Jobs

We give our resources away to multi-national companies, let them introduce FIFO, let them discharge whatever into our rivers, let them use the infrastructure we the taxpayers have funded; so at the very least shouldn't we insist they invest in one of our resources, our youth, by giving them the opportunity to be gainfully employed and learn a trade. At least they will be one asset that will increase in value after the resource boom ends. Hope you enjoy the following blog.

‘There’s a woman from some HR department on the phone for you’.  Having not received a phone call before, at best a letter, but usually nothing, he was hesitant to hear the outcome to his latest job application.  As the phone went back on the docking station a satisfied smile soon broke into a huge grin.  “That training I got, it’s going to pay off. I’ve got a job with the mines”.

A couple of weeks ago I questioned with 1.2 million Australians unemployed and 2.2 million underemployed, why the need for foreign labour.  Liveability near where the jobs are is one issue.  It was good to see this week one state election candidate help try to address this with a free family fun park proposal for Rockhampton.  The Rockhampton region needs to position itself as a place where families of mine/resource workers can live.  Infrastructure like this proposal and for Yeppoon, along with fast train access to Gladstone and out west to Alpha would make it more enticing for people to move closer to where the jobs are.

Another issue that was brought to my attention was the high cost to get all the training and tickets required to make a person potentially employable by the mines.  A $7000-$10000 outlay.  If you’re unemployed this outlay would be a substantial hurdle, if not insurmountable.  Why not introduce a HEC’s type of repayment scheme, suggested a reader to this column.  Just like a university student, the person receiving the training repays the cost of it out of their income once it exceeds a pre-determined amount.  Sounds like a great idea.  The Government would be making an investment in its own citizens which would be repaid once they gained employment and the income exceeded the set amount.

With the Government also collecting income tax and extra GST with more gainfully employed Australians.  Something I question whether they’ll be collecting taxes from the fly in fly out (FIFO) foreign workers.  The person who advised me of the idea has written to the State Minister of Mines suggesting it, but has yet to receive a reply.

However instead of the Government creating another level of bureaucracy to handle this would the mine/resource companies be better to fund and administer it.  They could therefore give a clearer indication of persons they deem suitable for the work and thus eligible for the training and funding.  Not providing false hope to the participants who outlay the huge dollars but aren’t likely for whatever reason to gain employment with the mines. Plus arguably the mines/resources companies could administer such a scheme more efficiently than the government.

Either way there does appear to be merit in this HEC’s type proposal.  Hopefully someone who has the power to appraise it fully can bring it to the attention of the people who do really want to get more Australians employed does so.

What the Hell is at Yeppoon?

What kind of future do we want? A quiet, relaxed environment sounds enticing, but how is it economically sustainable? Yeppoon/Capricorn Coast is a beautiful area, Queensland best kept secret as one politican called it. Without careful development though to encourage more people to live and invest in the area rates will arguably have to increase to sustain and upgrade just the services that currently exist, let alone any new ones. The next 2 months provide us a real opportunity to have a say in what future we want.

He had passed it numerous times, preferring to take the western bypass around Rockhampton heading south.  What the hell is at Yeppoon?  This time when seeing the signpost curiosity finally got the better of him.  With a couple of hours to kill he thought why not, taking the old highway road through Parkhurst he turned left and headed to Yeppoon.  Overtaking a few dump trucks along the way he got his first glimpse of blue water.  This was in stark contrast to his next significant colour sighting, the brownness of a large barren dump.  Turning left at the last roundabout he headed to the foreshore, passing what appeared to be a large garden area.  He was surprised how relatively undeveloped the foreshore was.  The accommodation ranged from budget to upmarket, each displaying their vacancy signs.  Deciding not to continue going north to Byfield (maybe another time), he turned down what appeared to be the main street, lots of cars but where were all the people he wondered.  Not able to find a handy car park and recalling the garden area he turned the car around to go back there to stretch the legs and have a bite to eat.  The Rockhampton Regional Gardens, what a strange name for gardens in Yeppoon he thought.  The sign post also acknowledged that it was a former hospital site and that with State and Local government funding it was now a native garden.  Other than the council workers mowing, on the brush cutters, collecting litter and trimming the vegetation, the gardens were devoid of people (probably a popular place on weekends he thought).  He found a table with a view of the ocean out to the islands.  Great Keppel; now wasn’t that an island they were once going to build a new resort on he wondered, uncertain what was there now.  This got him thinking how a prime piece of real estate that he was sitting in wasn’t developed into some tourist attraction. “That’s what is missing here”.  Yeppoon has got the beach, islands but what did it have different from places like Airlie, Agnes, Hervey Bay to attract the tourists.  A wave pool on this very site, now that could be a solution, a direct access from the highway that would help, in fact why did they build a western bypass of Rockhampton when an eastern one would have bought highway traffic closer to the coast, making it an easier decision to stop over, or even stay at Yeppoon.  The natural scenic potential was definitely here he thought, but then again the quietness, lack of people and development did make it quite charming.  A secret best kept he thought for maybe the next time he had a couple of hours to kill while travelling down the highway.

What aspirations do you have for Yeppoon?  Over the next two months you get the chance to have a say. A South Bank 2 for Brisbane, but less than half the cost ($1.36m) towards the cost of a garden for Yeppoon! A Council that doesn’t list a Yeppoon foreshore development a high priority or a new broom that has a vision for a dynamic, vibrant coast. The elections are one way we create our future. Let’s ask and hear what the other aspiring politician’s plans for the Capricorn Coast are before we get out the silver shovels for the media shot to indicate the gardens will one day be built.