In This Issue

• Welcome From The Chair
• Free NBN Information Sessions Come to the Region!
• Northern Inland Innovation Awards
• Getting around the Northern Inland is Now a Lot Easier
• Enterprise Connect Free Business Review
• Town Success Story - Tingha
• Health and Wellbeing
• Regional Tourism Product Development
• Grants, Funding Opportunities and Tenders

Welcome From The Chair

Dear Fellow Northern Inland Residents,

It is hard to believe that 2011 is quickly drawing to a close and with the recent rains experienced by much of our region, it looks like 2011 will be ending on a high for many.

Before the year is out we will have the second round of the Regional Development Australia Fund (RDAF) which at this stage is due to open in November. Regional Development Australia Northern Inland (RDANI) will keep you up to date via our newsletters and our website on any developments. If you require any assistance with the RDAF application process, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our office. We would all love to see more worthwhile projects from our region get some much deserved funding.

Mal Peters, Chair

Free NBN Information Sessions Come to the Region!

The Northern Inland is incredibly fortunate to have one of Australia’s leading telecommunications advocates in our own backyard. Alun Davies, the head of the NBN New England Work Group and a member of the Regional Telecommunications Review Committee, is based in Armidale and is passionate about bringing the NBN to all corners of regional Australia.

Workshops on the benefits of the NBN will be held in Tamworth at Parry House at 10.30am on Tuesday 25th October 2011 and in Gunnedah at the Civic Theatre at 10.30am on Wednesday 2nd November 2011. Workshops will also be held in Narrabri at the Crossing Theatre on Tuesday 22nd November and in Moree at the Ex-Services Club on Wednesday 23rd November.

Mr Davies is passionate about telecommunications in regional areas and will provide an excellent insight on the benefits of high speed broadband and optic fibre cabling.

For more information on the NBN Workshops please call RDANI on (02) 6771 2790 or email rdani@rdani.org.au

Northern Inland Innovation Awards

These annual awards are an initiative of Regional Development Australia Northern Inland (RDANI) in recognition of the innovation of many regional businesses and groups. A distinguished list of sponsors illustrates the widespread support of innovation across the region. The sponsors for this year's awards are: Trade & Investment NSW, AusIndustry, New England Community Mutual, AgriFood Skills Australia, Austsafe Super, and Eastern Star Gas.

The Northern Inland Innovation Award Categories are:

• Agriculture, Horticulture and associated services
• Tourism, Leisure and Services
• Professional and Retail services
• Manufacturing and Engineering
• Research and Education

Nominations have now closed and all nominees have been invited to attend the gala awards night in Gunnedah on Friday, 28th October with the general public also welcome. The 2011 Innovation of the Year Award will be presented to the leading innovator across all categories.

Tickets are now available for $60 per person and should be purchased by Friday 21 October 2011.

For further information and to purchase tickets please contact the Regional Development Australia Northern Inland office on: 02 6771 2790 or go to the Award’s website: www.niia.com.au

Getting around the Northern Inland is Now a Lot Easier

People wanting information about transport services in the Northern Inland region will now find it much easier within the release of a 91 page guide called the Northern Inland Transport Guide 2011.

Regional Development Australia Northern Inland (RDANI) is pleased to announce the launch of the guide that will provide a comprehensive overview of all public transport options across our region.

RDANI Chair, Mal Peters, is delighted that the guide is available. “This guide will open up our region to those who need it most. People in towns such as Ashford and other small localities will now know exactly how to get to our bigger centres and beyond easily and affordably. It’s a great initiative for the region,” Mr Peters said.

The Northern Inland Transport Guide 2011 was jointly funded by RDANI, Department of Transport, Trade and Investment NSW, the NSW Department of Family and Community Services, Ageing, Disability and Home Care and Local Councils in the Northern Inland region.

The Northern Inland Transport Guide will outline not only the local bus services, but national bus services, rail services, air services, taxis, community transport and transport for health. The guide also contains information on fares and tickets, detailed public transport network maps and how to get to universities, TAFE, colleges and hospitals.

“It will be great to see the public making better use of our transport facilities as a result of this guide and hopefully it will ease the tyranny of distance felt by many Northern Inland residents,” Mr Peters said.

Over 20,000 copies of the guide will be distributed throughout the region. It will be available in hard copy at council offices as well as electronically on all council websites and the RDANI website. For further information, please contact RDANI on 67712790.

Enterprise Connect Free Business Review

Enterprise Connect is an Australian Government initiative and their main aim is to connect your business to the knowledge, tools and expertise necessary to improve productivity, increase competitiveness and fully capitalise on the growth potential of your business.

To further this aim, Enterprise Connect are offering businesses the opportunity to access a skilled business adviser at absolutely no charge, to work with your business for up to 40 hours to identify areas of opportunity in strategy, marketing, manufacturing processes, HR and anything else that may be identified.

The Business Review is a collaborative process with the Business Adviser working closely with key people in the business to identify changes that could be made to increase productivity and enhance competitiveness.

For more information, please go to www.enterpriseconnect.gov.au

Town Success Story - Tingha

Tingha, with a population of about 800 in the heart of the prosperous Northern Inland region of NSW is one of Australia’s most neglected dual cultural communities but is now undergoing a focused, sustainable program of social, economic and environmental reform. The Tingha Regeneration Program, now in its third year, encourages broad-based community involvement, in social, economic and environmental change, daring to look squarely at the causes and slowly breaking the social challenge cycles at their roots.

Tingha Regeneration Incorporated (TRI) Chair and Program Facilitator Bob Neville says the program is based on what he calls a “Natural Science for Small Community Regeneration” - a process which he has been researching now for more than 20 years. Some of the achievements so far include laying foundations for new industry development, support programs for individuals with ideas for new businesses and community projects and personal development, a Community Technology Centre, a progressive development of a Community Nursery at the community managed Tingha Gems Caravan & Camping Park. In particular, focus is on Tingha’s young children, who are the “seed’ of its future hope.

In spite of the challenges, with ongoing support and entrepreneurial vision Tingha can be progressively regenerated into a most attractive community with sustainable new industry, micro-business diversity and micro-tourism. Just 25km south-east of Inverell, Tingha is on a unique cluster of “living rocks” (a term describing the various life-like images that can be seen in the “faces” of the rocks at different times.

Tingha is a popular stop-over for regional fishing, fossickers and visitors to the Wing Hing Long Museum and to the mud brick historical museum of weird and strange collections at nearby Green Valley Farm - a very popular family holiday resort.

Well-known local NRL stars Preston Campbell and Nathan Blacklock will line up with Tony Windsor and Richard Torbay in support of the launch of Tingha Regeneration Incorporated’s “Framework for the Future”. The event is to be held at the Tingha Gems Caravan Camping Park from 10.30am-Midday Wednesday October 26th 2011.

Health and Wellbeing

Men’s health often gets pushed aside, particularly in regional areas. Two of the biggest issues facing men’s health are also two of the most ignored; prostate health and depression affect many men yet most are too scared to discuss them.

Movember started from humble beginnings around a bar in Melbourne in 2003. Since then, the movement has grown in leaps and bounds, raising $25 million globally in 2010 to go towards research and awareness programs.

The premise behind Movember is simple; on the 1st November, clean shaven men can register online and pledge to grow the weirdest, wackiest moustaches they can. Supported by the women in their lives, ‘Mo Bros’ raise funds by seeking sponsorship for their facial hair growing prowess.

These men effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November and through their words and actions raise awareness and funds by prompting private and public conversations around the often ignored aspects of men’s health.

For more information please go to www.movember.com.au

Regional Tourism Product Development

The NSW State Government has recently committed an additional $5 million in funding to regional tourism for the purpose of supporting product development. This represents an important economic stimulus opportunity for the whole of regional NSW.

The goal of the program is to create and/or enhance tourism products in regional NSW so as to work towards achieving the NSW State Government’s target of doubling tourism expenditure in the state by 2020.

Desired product development outcomes may include the strengthening of product quality and customer service standards, adapting products to leverage off current technology and trends in consumer behaviour, establishing a sustainable competitive advantage for destinations in NSW and anything else that may maximise visitation, revenue or yields.

For more information please go to www.forto.com.au

Grants, Funding Opportunities and Tenders

As RDANI has access to a large range of grants and funding opportunities. As of this month, there will be a new Grants Portal on our website which can be found here www.rdani.org.au/our-region/grants-and-funding-opportunities.php

This page will highlight a selection of the funding opportunities available as well as provide further resources on how to find the appropriate grant. The new portal will inform communities, businesses and industries within the region of the many government, business and philanthropic grants available.

Tenders
Tendering is becoming a vital part of how many businesses in the Northern Inland operate on a day to day basis. RDANI would like to highlight the many sources of Tender information available.

Both state and federal governments often have projects open for tender. For more information on NSW State Government Tenders please go to https://tenders.nsw.gov.au for further information on Federal Government Tenders please go to www.tenders.gov.au

Commercial tenders are also becoming more popular. For more information on the commercial tendering process please go to www.tenderlink.com or www.tenders.com.au