Virtual licorice factory tour 'just one example' of how business can adapt

Neil Druce, who owns the licorice factory and associated Green Grove Organics, said this was just one example of how businesses in regional areas were able to rethink how they operated, particularly in the wake of the coronavirus lockdown.

"I really think it is showing us, we don't have to travel to the office or travel to the city to do the business that we thought we had to in the past," Mr Druce said.

"We got stuck in that old way of thinking and it's taken this isolation for us to go 'hang on, we can enjoy the best of both worlds, the contact with the heartbeat of business, but also the regional lifestyle', which is really, really good."

Mr Druce's family also owns Corowa Whisky and Chocolate, which earlier this year began making hand sanitiser in response to government calls for more companies to manufacture the product.

He said the current lockdown and social isolation was giving a lot of people the chance to consider how they did their job and whether it could be changed.

"Today, I did my first virtual tour with a school group from Griffith, while they were in their classroom. I was walking around and asking people things and I was able to get way closer to the chocolate than they could have if they were there in person," he said.

"I think 2020 will be a year some people regret, but then a lot of people are going to say 'wow that was the year we opened our eyes'."

Liz Ritchie, the chief executive officer of the Regional Australia Institute, believes there could be a lot of new opportunities as people look for new ways to work post-lockdown.

In May, the institute formed the Regional Australia Council 2031 to bring together major corporations to look at opportunities for regional Australia.

Ms Ritchie said regional centres were continuing to show strong population growth, and there would be new opportunities for places like Wagga, which has been identified by the state government as an area of "significant growth".

The government's 20-year plan is to see the city's population reach 100,000.

"The current health crisis has highlighted the advantages of regional Australia as a great place to live, work and invest," Ms Ritchie said.

Wagga mayor Greg Conkey has told The Daily Advertiser that major projects like massive development mooted for the Bomen industrial area would benefit not only the city, but nearby towns like Junee and Coolamon, as well as the wider region.

He said smaller communities like Junee and Coolamon gave people more options when it came to lifestyle.