REDC CEO Narelle Pearse and Mackay Regional Council representatives travelled to Sydney last week to meet with three of the four major banks – ANZ, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank.

The meetings were held to encourage bank executives to partner with local developers to ensure continued growth for the region.

The lack of development in regional areas has been attributed to the inability for developers to access finance from major banks.

Bank representatives are expected to meet with the delegation again when they visit the region in the next few months.

REDC is pleased to welcome three new members, Industrial Services Queensland, Bullivants & Supply Connections.

Industrial Services Queensland (Associate Member)

Industrial Services Queensland's capacity is based on providing quality equipment and capable personnel who work safely and efficiently to maximise value to our customers. Specific focus areas; are Drainage and detailed excavations, tilt/rock buckets, auger and trencher, Cut/Fill and miscellaneous earthworks, Access road establishment and maintenance, Coal scanevging operators, Clear and grup, topsoil strippings, medium to large scale slashing, Concrete works, paths, driveways and shed slabs, Site cleanup and waste disposal where required.

For more information on Industrial Services Queensland, please contact Sean Burston on sean@isqld.com.au


Bullivants (Associate Member)

Bullivants is Australia’s oldest, largest and yet most progressive specialist provider of lifting, rigging, safety and related services to the industrial sector. Since 1891 Bullivants have been providing a comprehensive solution to help our customers operate safely and efficiently.

Bullivants is a part of the Wesfarmers group of companies and operates as a separate business under the Industrial Specialists Division. The support provided by the group strengthens Bullivants ability to provide industry leading service and solutions to our customers.

For more information on Bullivants, please visit their website at www.bullivants.com


Supply Connections (Associate Member)

Supply Connections Pty Ltd (SC) is a recruitment agency specializing in the placements of Purchasing & Supply Chain personnel, for coverage in all sectors including Mining, Construction, Industrial, Government and Commercial corporations throughout Australia and Overseas.

Being a national company, with offices based in Queensland and Western Australia, our friendly staff believe they're able to offer you the expertise, quality service and experienced personnel from our extensive database, to support your business in operating productively and efficiently at all times.

For more information on Supply Connections, please visit their website at www.supplyconnections.com.au

Economic Development Journal (March Quarter)

The first REDC Economic Development Journal was released last at the beginning of April. This is a member’s only document which will be released quarterly. It is a combination of local, regional and national economic development information.

Sunrise Regular 'Savanth Sebastian'

REDC in conjunction with the Commonwealth Bank, hosted a formal networking luncheon with guest speaker Savanth Sebastian (CommSec Equities Economist) at the Ocean International last week. Mr Sebastian is a regular economic commentator on the Sunrise morning show.

Savanth gave an informative presentation on ‘Economy 2010 – Lingering Risks, but great opportunities”

A copy of his presentation can be found on our Networking Events Page of our website at www.mwredc.org.au

The REDC Business Confidence Survey is now open. The Business Confidence survey is a brief business survey to determine the change in business confidence in the region.

Businesses that have completed the survey previously in the year are strongly encouraged to provide their input again.

Information given in this survey will provide details on the outlook that local businesses have for 2010 and will be used by REDC to inform government on what is needed in region.

The survey can be found on www.mwredc.org.au under the left-hand-side Quicklinks menu.

Survey will close on the 30th April 2010.

The Early Bird Registration period for the inaugural INVEST Mackay Whitsunday Isaac Conference 2010 have been extended until 19th April – where delegates can save $99.

REDC will be hosting the major event to be held from Wednesday 19th May to Friday 21st May 2010 at the Mackay Grand Suites Hotel.

The INIVEST Mackay Whitsunday Isaac Conference 2010 is an exciting opportunity for delegates to experience firsthand the opportunities available in this unique part of Queensland and to build links between businesses that can expand on existing commerce, support industry growth and improve regional infrastructure.

The event aims to bring together regional, national and global stakeholders in business, technology and investments through positive regional economic change.

REDC has recognised the global trend in investment attraction and aims to optimise the potential market of this diverse region. The region’s strong local business economy is underpinned by one of the largest coal mining deposits in Australia, a strong agribusiness sector including the nation’s second largest sugar producer and the largest winter produce growing region in Australia, along with the world renowned tourism asset - the Whitsunday Islands.

Guest speakers and expert panellists will deliver the latest insight into investment opportunities and explore the challenges and opportunities for economic growth and enterprise attraction in the region.

The event is proudly sponsored by ANZ, PRDnationwide Mackay, Wholesale Investor Magazine, Isaac Regional Council, Yanjian Group (Australia) Pty Ltd, Aspen Living, CQUniversity, Keswick Developments, Mackay Regional Council and Whitsunday Regional Council.

The Regional Economic Development Corporation (REDC) would like to encourage people interested in attending the conference to book now and make the most of the special deal being offered.

For more information and to register visit www.mwredc.org.au

The recent release of the unemployment rates for the December Quarter 2009, reveal that the unemployment rate for Mackay-Whitsunday-Isaac is improving.

In September 2009, the region’s unemployment rate was 3.78%. Latest figures indicate that this has dropped slightly to 3.65%. The lowest unemployment rate was recorded in Belyando (1.3) and the highest was Bowen (7.1).

The Queensland unemployment rate for December 2009 was 5.8%.

The Regional Economic Development Corporation (REDC) recently enlisted the help of CQUniversity students to create a series of funny videos to promote the Coal to Coast Jobs website.

The videos have been uploaded to Youtube in hopes that their humorous nature will encourage viewers to share them - a move that will assist by spreading awareness and usage of the website.

The students who were involved in producing the videos were: Clifford Power, Adam Lloyd-Jones, Glenn Domin, Hayley Bull, Xanthe Portegys and Garry Thayer.

The Coal to Coast Jobs website provides a number of innovative features for both employers and jobseekers alike. It features a job search function, job alerts and employer-jobseeker matching, career profiling tools and a resume builder. It also provides handy tip sheets on a range of topics for jobseekers including how to find a job, attending interviews and negotiating flexibility with your employer.

To list any vacant positions in your organisation, please visit www.coaltocoast.com.au

The funny videos can be viewed by clicking on the following links:

• To view the Coal to Coast Jobs promotional video 'How about now?' created by CQUniversity design team    'Mackay Regional Design', click here• To view the Coal to Coast Jobs promotional video 'Injury' created by CQUniversity design team 'Mackay Regional Design', click here• To view the Coal to Cost Jobs promotional video created by CQUniversity student Clifford Power, click here
 

The full program has been announced for the two-day QME Mining Industry Conference, to be held in Mackay on July 27 and 28 in conjunction with the Queensland Mining & Engineering exhibition.

The conference, with the theme “Mining 2010 and Beyond: maximising resources, alliances, technology and innovation for a sustainable future”, will be held in the Mackay Entertainment & Convention Centre – just across the street from the QME exhibition.

The full program and details of speakers are available on the conference website at www.queenslandminingexpo.com.au/en/conference

It will have a wide mix of speakers and presenters, including senior Queensland government representatives, mining industry executives, technical specialists, international experts and hands-on mine site managers.

Key participating organisations include the Queensland Resources Council, Peabody Energy, Bow Energy, Pacific National, Wesfarmers, Gladstone Ports Corporation and the Mackay Regional Council.

Did you know that members are able to share stories in the REDC e-newsletter? If you have a story you’d like to share with other members, drop us a line! Email your story to m.woodman@mwredc.org.au today!

Note: Inclusion of articles is subject to approval and may attract additional fees.