ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY
INVESTMENT
ATTRACTION –
WHAT’S OLD IS
NEW AGAIN square metre development, I have seen a fair depth
and breadth of projects. I only offer the above to
demonstrate experience and regardless of the
project, the sector or size, the fundamentals remain
the same. The client wants to make money and the
community wants jobs or technology transfer. If you
can break it down to the basics, a quicker resolution
is often achieved.
BY ALEX LEVER-SHAW SO WHY ENGAGE IN INVESTMENT
ATTRACTION?
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
This is my first attempt at writing an article for
EDA, so I may require your patience as a reader.
I am most certainly not an academic, therefore
I have not approached this as a professionally
researched and documented paper, but rather from
the perspective of a tactical practitioner. Having
been in the economic development field in various
capacities for the best part of 15 years and having
had a good relationship with EDA over that time, I
feel it is now appropriate to impart some hard-learnt
lessons on to the next generation of practitioners,
or anyone who wishes to consider my thoughts
about Investment Attraction. With organisations like
Regional Development Australia and various state
and local governments (and others) now looking to
return to this space, I also hope it is timely. There
is no requirement to agree with my views but rather
consider them when coming to your own.
The debate rages in various publications as
to the role of government or semi-government
organisations intervening in the market to affect
an outcome and there are many strong arguments
for and against. We are seeing a good example
play out now as several North American cities vie
for Amazon’s second headquarters. The incentive
packages mentioned in the press are at best, eye
watering. However, in my view the discussion is like
the climate change debate in that ‘the science is
clear’, but those with agendas will want to argue the
case regardless of the evidence.
Pictured below: ENGEO’S Guy Cassidy (centre) and
Tomasz Krawczynski (right) with Sunshine Coast Council’s
Head of Investment Attraction Alex Lever-Shaw (left)
celebrate the opening of ENGEO’s first Australian office on
the Sunshine Coast.
Having practiced the undertaking of Investment
Attraction activities at both the state and local levels
of government for some time and having close
exposure to the Federal Government’s activities
in this space through professional colleagues,
I broadly understand where the Australian
Government has attempted to engage within
investment attraction and what has or hasn’t led
to successful outcomes. Additionally, the projects I
have worked on in the roles I have held, have been
across many industries and business sizes.
In the industrial sector I have had the pleasure of
working with major companies like Orica, Boral and
Visy Corp, securing investment wins on ammonia
nitrate plants, plaster board facilities and paper
recycling plants, all worth in the hundreds of millions
of dollars. I have worked in the services sector with
back office providers, including Stellar Asia Pacific,
Auto and General and SNC Lavalin to name a few.
I engaged with Youi Insurance when they were
a start-up business of three staff in 2006 to over
1300 staff today, thanks to amazing leadership
and entrepreneurship in their management teams.
From small sheds of a few hundred square metres
to big sheds such as Capral Aluminium’s 70,000
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