The "wind is at our back" right now for growing regional communities, according to the new Regional Development Australia Riverina chair Dianna Somerville.
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Ms Somerville has been appointed for a four-and-a-half year term, replacing outgoing chair Richard Allsopp.
The Collingullie-based businesswoman grew up in Wagga and is a former naval officer, Kapooka base manager and director of Country Hope.
She now works for Agrifood Tech Innovation Hub, is a director for her family business Thomas Bros Group and is the founder of Regional Pitchfest.
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She said it was a time of opportunity for the regions at the moment following the coronavirus pandemic, with decentralisation, remote work and investing in regional areas all firmly on the national agenda.
"I really think COVID-19 has provided a catalyst of opportunity in our regions," she said.
Ms Somerville said she hoped to be part of making sure the Riverina capitalised on this period, and put plans in place to make sure the benefits were seen well into the future.
She said there were also significant challenges the Riverina would face in the next four-and-a-half years, with housing accessibility a "key issue."
Providing suitable housing across all demographics and all areas from the bigger cities to small and more remote Riverina towns is a priority.
Ms Somerville said the RDA had the opportunity to get the right people around the table from local community groups to all tiers of government discussing the housing issues and coming up with solutions.
"That's really about government, researchers and industry, accessing all three pillars of the community and ensuring the planning, the access of available funds and the championing of those solutions is done in an efficient and effective manner," she said.
Tackling labour shortages is another challenge Ms Somerville said would be a major focus, and she said she looked forward to being involved in existing RDA programs like Country Change and Growing Their Own that encouraged skilled workers to move to the Riverina and young workers to develop their skills locally.
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