On the 16th of November, the Hunter JO hosted an online roundtable as part of our Hunter Global: Our International Future initiative. This roundtable was the first phase in our Hunter Global initiative to prepare the region to capitalize on the international opportunities that will arise from the Newcastle Airport’s runway upgrade.
The Hunter Global roundtable hosted nearly 50 invited industry representatives from six sectors across the region with the purpose of identifying the opportunities that the runway upgrade offers, and the gaps and barriers that stand in their way. These sectors included Tourism & Visitor Economy, Defence, Manufacturing, Agribusiness, Business & Education, and Trade. The outcomes from this roundtable will be used to help design the whole-of-region Hunter Global summit set for February 2022.
With opening addresses from the Hunter JO Chair and Mayor of Cessnock, Bob Pynsent, and Liberal Senator for New South Wales and Patron Senator for the Hunter Region, Senator Hollie Hughes, the roundtable set the scene for the following advocacy activities of this project.
Newcastle Airport’s CEO, Dr Peter Cock, spoke about the runway upgrade and the importance of the region collaborating to realise and make the most of the opportunities that an international airport would present for the Hunter.
This was followed by an analysis of the economic opportunities from the Astrolabe team, which highlighted that an upgraded airport will support 4410 fulltime jobs and deliver a $12.7 billion economic boost to the region and introduced the areas of economic opportunity to help guide the following workshops with the attending industry experts.
The output from the passionate and enthusiastic group of experts in attendance began to identify what the Hunter’s future would look like as a global hub and highlighted the strength and expertise already existing in our region. The Hunter does collaboration well, and by coming together to design our international future the connectivity, growth and diversification of this unique region will only become stronger and more resilient.
Read more about this project or register your interest for the February 2022 Summit HERE!