It is commonly said that there will be more change in the next twenty years than the last hundred.
"This is dead right if the last two years are anything to go by!" says VECCI Chief Executive Officer, Mr Wayne Kayler-Thomson.
"We are dealing with a new set of issues today, as opposed to 2005, when VECCI conducted the inaugural Victoria SummitTM at Parliament House, Melbourne. Key to the success of the 2005 Summit was a tight focus in the key areas of energy, skills, trade, infrastructure and cooperative federalism.
"This time, a significantly different set of issues are up for discussion.
"While many business issues around infrastructure, taxation and red tape remain the same as in 2005 business, along with the rest of the community, has to face both a significantly changed reality and perceptions with regard to water – or the lack of it, energy and climate change, and population growth in the context of an ageing workforce.
"The 2007 Victoria SummitTM represents a chance to harness change rather than resist it – the Summit will not only address the key issues associated with changes in the economy and society associated with globalisation and competition from low-cost economies, but the issues of climate change and the need to manage carbon outputs, increasing population and scarce water resources.
- Cutting e-waste – as a nation, Australia generates over 32 million tonnes of solid waste each year making it one of the highest per-capita waste generators in the world, sending 1.6 million computers to landfill annually. Victorians contribute significantly, generating approximately 10 million tonnes of waste or 2,000 kilograms per person per year. However, the potential market for recycled materials from household e-waste in Australia is conservatively estimated at over $50 million per year, reaching $500 million per year for precious metal-rich equipment such as mobile phones. We could put less pressure on landfill and capture precious e-waste at the same time with innovative solutions.
- Localising Skills and Education – we are staring down the barrel of a massive labour shortage. Labour force participation declines sharply with age and it is expected that baby boomer retirement patterns over the next 15 years will see the Australian workforce grow by only 57,000 per year for the whole decade of 2020. This compares with an estimated 175,000 new entrants to the workforce currently per year. Broad-brush intiatives, however, are not working and we need to work on this problem at the local level.
- Managing Carbon – with the likelihood that carbon will be managed in Australia and worldwide in the foreseeable future, industry and the community must discuss and prepare options. What is the least-cost path for business and how will households, especially low-income earners, manage the inevitable rise in power bills?
- Participating in Land and Waterways Sustainability – who has a stake in Victoria's natural assets and can wider community participation improve their condition? Natural assets such as rivers, lakes and national parks are relied upon by local communities as a source of sustenance, particularly through tourism activity.
The value of these assets is often only realised when they are damaged or lost, as has been the case with recent bushfires, floods and drought. The drought has had a wider industry impact than just on the agricultural sector, with a recent VECCI survey citing nearly 60 percent of respondents experiencing a negative effect on their business. The 2003 Alpine bushfires pumped 130 megatonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, equivalent to a quarter of Australia's annual greenhouse emissions.
With regard to water, we also need to facilitate interdependence among asset stakeholders and stop the blame game between households, industry and farmers, and the cities and the regions – for example, how many city diners would know that the T-bone steak they had just consumed took 4,500 litres of water to produce?
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