Cr Neil Westcott is also a farmer and said agriculture would play a key role over the next decade to sequester carbon which would form an important part of farming profit.
Parkes has placed itself firmly on the map as a model others can look to following a forum hosted by the Parkes Shire Council recently on the global move towards a circular economy.
The 20 speakers at the Activating the Low Carbon Economy in Regional Australia forum held over 150 attendees, who joined in online, captivated for the whole day.
“It is exciting to be part of the solution and to know Parkes is heading in the right direction,” said Cr Neil Westcott, who was a main driver behind the forum.
He said the purpose of the forum was to build a platform for knowledge sharing and innovation. There were many fantastic ideas shared that could be relevant to not only Parkes and regional NSW, but all of regional Australia.
“The key drivers for the day were urgency, empathy and opportunity. It is a very unique time in our history as there are some enormous problems, however a fantastic opportunity to make better use of the resources we have available to us and to set a mode of operation built around the circular economy.”
Topics covered included the role and impact of renewable energy in the regions, the nature and benefits of a circular economy and what this means for business and government, the importance of a low carbon economy to regional and rural Australia, and how all of these will combine to embrace new industries and create local employment in Parkes, accelerating a transition to a prosperous low carbon future.
Multiple speakers applauded Parkes Shire Council for its strategic vision in hosting the forum and the work that Council is doing to champion a low carbon and circular economy to boost regional productivity and opportunities.
Beyond the forum, Council plans to develop a white paper to guide future projects, opportunities and embrace new industries and create local employment in the Parkes Special Activation Precinct.
Neil said the forum had also led to many spin-off meetings between the speakers that would hopefully lead to many more great outcomes.