General News
5 November, 2024
Our regional advocate
The Horsham Times has partnered with Wimmera Southern Mallee Development to present a series of columns - on the first Friday of every month - exploring the wide and varied aspects of the organisation's work and influence as an advocate for economic and community prosperity in the region. This month, CEO Chris Sounness discusses the organisation's resources to help build community resilience.
At Wimmera Southern Mallee Development, one of our responsibilities is to help build resilient communities across our region. Resilience is not just about bouncing back from challenges; it’s about equipping communities with the tools and resources they need to thrive, even in the face of adversity.
Access to accurate information is crucial for making calm and well-informed decisions during challenges like drought or when facing unprecedented change like we currently are with multiple renewable energy developments. One of the most common questions we encounter is, “How can we find key information?”
individuals and businesses to proactively and confidently connect with a broad range of support services earlier rather than later. We believe this can make a substantial difference to the way our region responds to drought, and we look forward to rolling it out soon.
In today’s information-rich world, it’s helpful to have reliable resources gathered in one easy-to-access location, so we’ve launched a ‘Drought Resilience’ section on our website at www.wsm.org.au. This section will be continuously updated with information about our drought projects, making it easier for our communities to stay updated.
‘Energy Transition’ section on our website starting with general information we hope will be helpful. We will continue to explore other ways to conveniently present regulatory and project information in one central spot.
We invite you to explore the new content available on our website. Your feedback is invaluable to us, and we welcome suggestions for additional resources you would like to see. Please feel free to reach out via email at info@wsm.org.au.
In addition, as part of our ongoing commitment to building resilience in our communities, we are hosting a series of free online webinars this November covering topics like the impacts of transmission lines on ag-tech (Adrian Roles from JMAJ Precision), the economic implications of participating—or not participating—in wind energy projects (Dr Kate Burke from Think Agri and Tayla Blight from Pinion Advisory) and justice reform for agribusinesses hosting wind energy projects (Dr Madeline Taylor from Macquarie University). Please register for these webinars via our Facebook page or website.
By taking proactive steps to become more resilient, I think we can better cope with impending changes, gain more control over outcomes, and emerge from challenges stronger than before. Together, let’s build a resilient future for Wimmera Southern Mallee.