Former local resident Liz Ritchie has recently had the honour of delivering a magnificent speech - and sharing her passion for Deniliquin - at the National Press Club.
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Ms Ritchie was invited to speak at the prestigious and iconic venue in her role as CEO of the Regional Australia Institute (RAI).
“It was amazing; it was so confronting being in the room,” she told the Pastoral Times.
“It is not everyday that you are on a national stage, but once you get going you soon relax.”
Ms Ritchie said through the opportunity, she was able to shine a light on issues that impact on so many people.
“Deniliquin is why I do what I do,” she said with passion.
Ms Ritchie describes her role at RAI as “more than a job; it is a calling”.
“My connection to ‘place’ is strong and it drives me daily in our important work - empowering our regions to thrive,” she said.
As well as delivering her speech to the nation’s top professionals, Ms Ritchie had her parents Marie and Lloyd Ritchie and fiance Grismstad in the crowd.
Deniliquin friends Kellie Crossley and Cath Bliss were also in attendance.
“It cannot be overstated the significance of them being there to share this momentous day,” she said.
“I have been blessed to be raised in an incredible family, in a vibrant community that helped shaped me.
“This work that I lead is deeply personal. It’s about striving to make a difference, it’s about striving to make a better future for all our children.
“I am fortunate that my work is much more than work, that’s what I mean by a calling.”
Ms Ritchie has been the CEO of RAI since its inception in 2012.
Having worked in the field of regional development for more than 20 years, it is an ideal organisation for her to enact change.
RAI is the nation’s first and only independent think tank dedicated to building robust regional economies and a better quality of life in our regional towns and cities.
Ms Ritchie said to be able to share her work and vision with the National Press Club - which hosts public debates and private discussions that shape Australia today and into the future - was a huge honour.
Those invited to stand behind the hallowed lectern possess an unparalleled breadth of ideas.
The scale of their potential influence is immense, as demonstrated by the media coverage and national conversation that follows a televised address.
Ms Ritchie’s speech defined the need to see a major mind shift in this country to be able to realise regional ambitions.
In a time of great transition she hopes through meaningful work to “rebalance the nation”.
Motivated by spiralling cost of living pressures, growing congestion and a desire for more time, more space and more connection with community, Ms Ritchie says the data indicates that demand for regional living is high.
“While our treasurer laments the ailing productivity of our country, regional Australia is primed to answer the call.
“Rebalancing population growth towards regional cities will have valuable net gains for the national economy.
“Even a modest increase in the regional population by 2032, to 11 million people, would deliver a $13.8 billion boost to our gross domestic product.
“We can support the growth of our regions whilst addressing the rising costs of metropolitan infrastructure and congestion, we can be a more liveable nation.”
RAI found capacity constraints are slowing things down, just when we need our economy to rally.
The demand for regional living at the pace it is growing was not planned for.
As a result, Ms Ritchie says a series of “pinch points” have been exposed in human capital, housing, childcare and healthcare, education.
“This is why I launched the Big Skills Challenge report - a 10-year snapshot of regional job vacancies.
“A report that blows up the myth ‘there are no jobs in our regions’.
“In fact, the report’s headline finding is that job vacancies in regional Australia grew three times faster than metro areas at the end of last year and today they sit at just under 100,000.
“Since the onset of COVID, we have seen more than a 100 per cent job vacancy growth.
“Unemployment is lower in regional Australia and has been for the last two years, so our capacity is stretched.
“Perhaps it’s not surprising that the number one job vacancy in regional Australia was medical practitioners and nurses.
“In December there were over 6,000 job vacancies. This was half the national total, despite regions having only a third of the population.”
Rounding out the top four most in demand occupation groups were receptionists, carers or aides and sales assistants.
“These four groups represent nearly 30 per cent of all vacant roles, and if we could fill them it would generate $1.2 billion in economic activity.
“This report provides the evidence for a targeted plan, that reskills and fills the jobs of today whilst we plan for tomorrow.”
To address the issues Ms Ritchie indicated that we must invest in education and training whilst focusing on “growing from within”.
“We must continue to promote the regions through the Move to More campaign, and others.
“It’s my view, that the current mental models for economic and decision making are outdated, entrenched and not serving us.
“The current state of regional Australia is a result of generations of geographical bias and misunderstanding.
“Regional issues have not been prioritized in the minds of those who have the power to change the future.”
Ms Ritchie believes our regions have been sitting in a policy blind spot.
She says regional Australia is different, and requires a different response.
“Policy coordination is important but there’s another deeper challenge.
“Urban settlements operate at scale – they are thick markets.
“Improving services is generally a matter of securing money and people from one agency.
“Regional communities have thin markets.”
Ms Ritchie said solutions are often constrained by the interplay between many different agencies, which she said makes them appear difficult to fix and therefore easy to ignore.
She and her team at RAI think otherwise.
“At the RAI, we look at the light and shade of regional Australia and we see a huge number of solutions.
“Since the inception of the RAI, we have worked with over 40 different state and federal ministers holding office in a portfolio of regional development.
“Fragmented approaches and silos have all contributed to the challenge we experience today.
“Most importantly, we must understand that it is in our national interest for our regions to thrive.”
A momentous day occurred last year when RAI launched the Regionalisation Ambition 2032 – a framework to rebalance the nation.
It is a set of 20 targets across five key areas - jobs and skills, population, liveability, productivity and innovation, and sustainability and resilience.
“The ambition was co-designed by government, industry and regional people to understand collective effort and action,” Ms Ritchie said.
“By working together, we are blowing up the silo-ed approach that has held regional Australia back.”
Ms Ritchie concluded by saying that Australia must have a National Population Plan.
“The future belongs to those that plan for it today. Australia – it’s time to rebalance the nation.”
Both Ms Ritchie and her fiance, Tom Grismstad are extremely busy in their professional lives, which she described as “hectic”.
Engaged for a number of years, Ms Ritchie said “we consider ourselves married”, but also said “never say never” when asked if they would finally ‘tie the knot’ officially.
“I might come home and get married one day,” she said with a laugh.