SEGRA Talks

Jenn loves business in the bush. She is a Best-Selling Author and commentator on all things marketing with a big heart for helping rural and regional small businesses (being a rural girl herself). She is the founder of Social Media and Marketing Australia, the viral Facebook Group Buy From a Bush Business and an original co-founder of Australia’s rural answer to Amazon – Spend With Us Marketplace. She also just wrote the only book on marketing your business in rural/regional Australia called Small Town Big Impact. Jenn is a no-nonsense, passionate rural advocate and someone you definitely want to know!

Chatting with SEGRA Directors on what's on the horizon for the regions this year

Half of the SEGRA Directors are back for another year! In this first podcast for 2024 hear from Simon, Ashley and Caroline about the challenges and opportunities in rural, remote and regional Australia.

Meet the new SEGRA Directors Nadine and Sara, and reconnect with Charles as we talk about the challenges and opportunities in rural, remote and regional Australia

Dr George Wilkinson recently completed his PhD titled ‘A Scarcity of Large Non-Capital Cities: A national analysis of the drivers of settlement in Australia,’ which examined how institutions sculpt economic geography in Australia. George has expertise in strategy, organisational design, and change management. He has recently commenced a role as the Corporate Development Manager at the City of Karratha, following previous roles as a management consultant. George has a PhD in regional development, institutional economics and economic geography from UWA, holds a master of business administration from the University of Cape Town, a master of science from UWA and bachelor of arts from the University of California.

Natalie Collard is the CEO of Farmers for Climate Action. She was previously the EO of Food and Fibre Great South Coast.

In this episode, we meet Robert Prestipino, a passionate design thinker & project innovator for regional leaders seeking to create places that will thrive in the future. Robert is a qualified urban designer, registered landscape architect, corporate member of the Planning Institute of Australia and an Australian Certified Economic Developer. His work has received 19 national and international awards for his best practice approach to creating better places for people and business. His revitalisation project Our Town Our Future secured $15 million in project funding for a regional community of 12,000 people.

Get to know Toowoomba before the National Regional and Economic Development Summit. Chatting with three economic and regional development leaders from Toowoomba and the Darling Downs region, Neil Butler our podcast host discovers Toowoomba is the largest inland regional centre in Australia, it has an international inland port, a diverse industry base, an emerging café culture and is home to many cultures. This bonus podcast will give you an insight into Toowoomba’s economic development, upcoming significant projects as well as the lead organisations who are helping to deliver the Summit.

Mia Davies was born in 1978 to Dexter and Leonie Davies and raised in the Wheatbelt, on a farm near Wyalkatchem. Prior to entering Parliament, Ms Davies worked as a policy adviser for the Leader of the Parliamentary National Party, executive officer at the Chamber of Minerals and Energy and as a communications consultant. She holds a Bachelor of Marketing and Media from Murdoch University. Ms Davies was first elected to represent the Agricultural Region at the 2008 State election. At the 2013 State election, Ms Davies successfully contested the seat of Central Wheatbelt for The Nationals WA. Ms Davies made history in 2013 becoming the first female to be appointed Deputy Leader of The Nationals WA. Shortly afterwards she was appointed to Cabinet as the Minister for Water; Forestry, and in 2014 added Sport and Recreation to her Ministerial responsibilities. As Minister, Ms Davies oversaw projects including the Optus Stadium, the expansion of WA’s irrigated agriculture sector through the Water for Food initiative, and championed increased participation of women in sport. In 2017, Ms Davies was elected as Parliamentary Leader of The Nationals WA, becoming the first female leader of the National Party in Australia. Following the 2021 State election, Ms Davies became the Opposition Leader for Western Australia, marking the first time a member of The Nationals WA has held the title since 1947. Ms Davies is the third female to hold the title of WA Opposition Leader, each from a different party – former Labor Premier Carmen Lawrence and Liberal leader Liza Harvey. An alliance opposition has been formed between The Nationals WA and the WA Liberal Party, the first formal opposition arrangement to be agreed between the two parties since 2005. In 2023, Ms Davies stood down from the position of Leader and by extension Leader of the Opposition. Her Deputy at the time Shane Love MLA was endorsed unanimously by the Party Room on 30 January 2023 as the new Leader. Ms Davies is passionate about improving services and infrastructure in regional WA, in particular education, health and aged care. She truly believes regional WA deserves better as the engine room of the State and any improvements to the regions will benefit the entirety of WA. Website: www.miadavies.com.au This episode is sponsored by 150 Square - www.150square.com.au

Ian Ugarte is a full-time property investor, educator, public speaker, media commentator, and Australia’s leading micro-apartment, rooming house, and boarding house specialist. An unstoppable entrepreneur and educator, Ian has not only taught qualified building trades at as a senior educator with TAFE NSW, but he also shares his expertise in property development and property investing. Having educated over 230,000 people at his live and online masterclasses over the past decade, Ian is regularly called upon by the media and government policy makers, and is recognised as one of Australia’s leading property experts. Ian is based on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. Website: www.invida.com.au This episode is sponsored by 150 Square - www.150square.com.au

Join Neil Butler, host of Podversations, as he interviews SEGRA Directors Simon Boughey, Ashley Bland, Charles Jenkinson, and Caroline Robinson from all across regional Australia. Together, they delve into their motivations for joining SEGRA and share their insights on the challenges and opportunities facing regional Australia. They also give a sneak peek into SEGRA's annual event which this year transforms from a conference to a National Summit that will engage and encourage more participation from attendees. Tune in to gain valuable perspectives on how we can build a better future for regional Australia.