NSW Business Chamber to host 200 business leaders at innovation summit to discuss transforming the Central Coast into a ‘smart city’ | Lakes Mail
NSW Business Chamber to host 200 business leaders at innovation summit to discuss transforming the Central Coast into a ‘smart city’
NSW Business Chamber will host 200 business leaders at an innovation summit to discuss how to transform the Central Coast into a cutting edge, digital ready ‘smart city’.
“Being a ‘smart city’ isn’t just pie-in the sky nonsense or jargon,” Paula Martin, the NSW Business Chamber Central Coast regional director, said.
“It’s a practical strategy to help boost growth, jobs and prosperity for all Coasties – and it’s a strategy that our council and all levels of government need to embrace.
“The ‘smart’ part is in making sure we use recent, and substantial, advances in technology to do this. That’s what our innovation summit is going to be about.”
The summit will be held at Mingara Recreation Club, Tumbi Umbi, on Thursday, August 8.
“Smart strategies can be simple, achievable things, like using digitally connected traffic lights and systems to bust congestion,” Ms Martin said.
“They can also include more ambitious plans – like driverless shuttles, trams or trains for seamless connectivity around the whole Central Coast. Imagine that!”
Paula Martin.
Mr Martin said “regional cousins” such as Geelong and the Sunshine Coast had already adopted smart technologies to help them innovate and address growth and unemployment problems.
“So there is no reason why the Central Coast couldn’t take the lead,” she said.
“We have proximity to the nation’s largest population, local skilled talent, a cross section of industry and education providers – and a fantastic environment to live, work and play.
“As things stand, there’s a perception among many businesses I speak to here and elsewhere in NSW, that the Coast is going backwards in many respects. That it’s far too difficult to get anything done and that as a city we’re not pro-growth.”
A ‘smart city’ mindset could change that, she said.
“The Coast lost 6500 jobs over the last year and has a sizeable youth unemployment problem. It’s also a sad fact that one of our biggest exports is skilled workers – the 40,000 who travel to Sydney to work every day.
“At the innovation summit, we’re going to hear about how we can change all of that and transform the Coast into what it should be – the envy of Australia.”
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