Inaugural City of Busselton economic forum to present region outlook with guests from across the nation

An economic forum will take place in Bunker Bay today, examining the region’s economic outlook and exploring current trends, and issues. The inaugural Economic Conference, hosted by the City of Busselton, will spend the day discussing industries that drive the city and wider South West region through interactive forums including interactive panels and Q&A sessions. Led by emcee Myles Pollard of McLeod’s Daughters fame, 19 keynotes speakers will speak seven major topics including skills, labour and housing, tourism trends, engagement and branding, industry development, collaboration, creativity and sustainability and wellness and resilience in business. Joining the conference from the Canberra are Regional Australia Institute’s chief economist Dr Kim Houghton and senior economist and housing expert Diwa Hopkins who will share their knowledge to local business owners. “Our role really is to present what’s happening in Busselton in the context of what’s happening in other regional areas,” Dr Houghton said. “I think there are some very common threads, but there are also some uniqueness, too, and so our role is to help people to see what’s unique about their circumstances, and what’s actually some fairly common issues across regions at the moment.” One area that may be of particular interest to attendees is the regional housing Q and A panel, with the South West rental vacancy rates down to just one per cent. Ms Hopkins said Busselton in particular observes a reverse trend to other regions in the country, and that the panel will discuss how to maintain and ensure affordable housing in the area. “What you see over East is that typically regional areas are more affordable than the capital cities in terms of purchase market style and house prices, dwelling prices but interestingly in Busselton, in relation to Perth, is that housing prices are more expensive,” she said. City mayor Grant Henley said he looks forward to the open discussions and opportunities that will take place on the day. “This economic forum will be an excellent opportunity to promote conversations and co-operative partnerships on issues and opportunities that affect socioeconomic progress and facilitate information flow and networking opportunities across industry sectors,” he said.