Archive for category: Frontpage Article

Meet Lexi Stockman, Wentworth Shire Council’s Manager Tourism and Promotion.

After growing up in Loxton in South Australia’s Riverland for most of her life, Lexi moved to Mildura around eight years ago after completing her university degree in Adelaide.

Since then her career has mostly been spent at Mildura Central Shopping Centre as the Retail Marketing Manager from 2016 to 2021 followed by a short stint in Event Management.

Lexi said working for many years to create Mildura Central into an ideal destination for people to meet, shop and dine has given her the skills and expertise necessary to assist in evolving the Wentworth Shire into a top destination for locals and tourists.

“My aim within my new role of Manager Tourism and Promotion is to work with the local communities to create opportunities for tourism, focus on completing our upcoming major projects and ensuring they are successfully marketed to potential tourists to increase economic growth in the region,” she said.

“I’m very passionate about tourism and travel and I’m always looking out for new ideas to put into play as a point of difference for our region. “

Lexi believes Wentworth Shire can become an ideal destination in itself, catering for all walks of life from single travellers to families to retirees.

“This will be achieved by promoting and preserving our beautiful natural attractions, hosting various events and continuing to bring new and exciting projects to life,” Lexi said.

“I’m very excited to be on board and can’t wait to see what the future holds for tourism in the Shire within the next few years and beyond.”

Council continues to recruit personnel to fill the vacancies within the approved structure adopted by Council in February 2020.

Regional business owners and workers are encouraged to attend a forum in Wentworth, NSW to learn more about opportunities being created by Transgrid’s major transmission project EnergyConnect, a 700 kilometre interconnector being built from the New South Wales/South Australian border to Wagga Wagga.

Executive Manager of Delivery Craig Stallan said “We encourage regional communities to get involved in the project, which will create up to 1500 jobs in NSW over the next two and a half years.

“Transgrid, through its construction partner SecureEnergy, is building one of Australia’s largest infrastructure projects and this will provide opportunities to a wide range of local suppliers and workers.”

Jobs will include construction, road transport, accommodation, cleaning services, catering, fencing, surveying and geotechnical services, labourers and trades, plant operators and construction engineers.

SecureEnergy is holding an information evening on the employment and business opportunities on Thursday, 2 December 2021 in Wentworth, NSW.

It will include some of SecureEnergy’s major subcontractors as well as representatives from SecureEnergy’s Human Resources Team.

David Whatmough, SecureEnergy Project Director said the forum will explain the different types of work packages available over the life of EnergyConnect.

“The work will be staged and so will the jobs over the duration of the project – which will provide a boost to regional economies even after the project is completed in late 2024. We want to build a legacy so that the skills training needed on our project remains in the regions for years to come.”

SecureEnergy is also collaborating with the NSW Government’s Business Connect and Industry Capability Network (ICN), NSW to help regional businesses become pre-qualified for work on the EnergyConnect Project.

Works packages are found on the Industry Capability Network (ICN) website at https://icn.org.au

The forum is 4:30pm- 7:30pm, Thursday 2 December at The Crown Hotel, Corner Sandwych Street and Darling St, Wentworth.

Suppliers can find more information by going to the SecureEnergy website and accessing the Supplier Information Guide: www.secureenergyjv.com.au

The NSW Government will provide a Summer Holiday Stock Guarantee for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and will expand the Small Business Fees and Charges Rebate for all eligible small businesses.

Small and medium business owners will be able to open with confidence thanks to a suite of support measures from the NSW Government, as part of the Economic Recovery Strategy.

Under the SME Summer Holiday Stock Guarantee, eligible businesses with an annual turnover between $75,000 and $50 million will be able to apply for a grant of up to $20,000 to compensate for loss of perishable stock, or claim $10,000 for reduced capacity to sell non-perishable items if a local lockdown occurs and they are impacted.

The Stock Guarantee of up to $20,000 would be available if non-essential SMEs were forced to shut their doors between 1 December 2021 to 31 January 2022 due to public health orders.

The expanded Small Business Fees and Charges Rebate will be eligible for use until 30 June 2022.

Find out more here.