arid outback township in southwestern Queensland . Quilpie Shire Council was interested in an out of the box approach to potential use of a parcel of land within the town of Quilpie .
The Quilpie Shire is located in South- West Queensland , approximately 1,000 kilometres west of Brisbane . Quilpie Shire has a population of 790 , of which 654 reside in the town of Quilpie .
Building on the principles of designing out waste , regenerating natural systems and keeping products and materials in use an effective micro precinct needs to nurture enterprise activity that leverages :
• System Thinking : Exploring the potential relationships of micro enterprises within the precinct . How might potential relationships be leveraged to increase enterprise viability .
• Innovation : Embracing the opportunity of market trends to support new enterprise . Can we think outside the box .
• Open Learning : Commit to sharing knowledge . Can we design learning and sharing into the business model .
• Collaboration : Be genuine about business synergy . What are market opportunities for micro business to develop collaborative enterprise models where everyone wins .
• Value Networks : One micro business waste can often be another micro business opportunity . Are there new enterprise opportunities nurtured by waste value streams that have traditionally been ignored .
• Stewardship : Does the micro precinct help build a better future ? Does the enterprise mix support the long term aspirations of the community within the sustainable capacity of the natural environment ?
NEW ( Nutrients , Energy , Water ) waste value chains : Micro Precincts can enhance their financial viability by embracing the NEW waste value chains . The three areas of nutrients , energy , and water provide an opportunity to be creatively recaptured , reconstituted and reused in an integrated network of micro precinct enterprise activities .
Re-thinking about nutrients , energy and water can provide new enterprise opportunities that capture value in areas that have been traditionally marginal or not normally viable and tip them across the line to be viable micro enterprises that can sustain themselves . There are interesting opportunities in this space with technology and market trends that ’ s evolving every day .
OUTBACK MICRO PRECINCT CASE STUDY Recently there was an opportunity to test micro precinct thinking in a semi-
Like most rural and remote locations , Quilpie Shire is suffering population decline and limited employment opportunities . The Shire ’ s population has been in steady decline since 2011 , falling 18.7 % since this time . At the same time , the local economy is heavily reliant upon agriculture , with 27.8 % of the local workforce engaged in this sector . Although recent rains have improved local conditions , recent drought conditions have created an economic environment of decline , which has contributed to the population decline . The region ’ s declining population and reliance on the agricultural sector for employment opportunities is a key driver for Council to consistently seek new ideas to diversify the local economy .
The relocation of Council ’ s depot from the centre of town provided a unique opportunity . Lead by the Council , the community of Quilpie Shire saw a rare opportunity to explore an innovative approach to the re-development of the 3.9 ha depot site .
Council was keen for an idea that would deliver new employment outcomes rather than just another park master plan that would add to the Council ’ s asset management costs .
The vision was to strengthen local values , deliver new public amenity and attract new business in the most cost-effective way possible .
The challenge of this project was to identify and understand the place-based values and develop an appropriate theme that could attract new enterprise . After extensive values consultation , the economic development theme of Outback Water provided a focus to search and test potential enterprise opportunities .
Setting a best practice benchmark for the project ensured that all ideas would be worthy of research and learning outcomes .
VOL 16 NO 2 2023 20 www . edaustralia . com . au