Prospects and Challenges for the Hunter: A strategic economic study

The Hunter is Australia’s largest regional area, encompassing 11 Local Government Areas and the nation’s seventh largest city, Newcastle. In many ways, the Hunter can be considered as a microcosm of the national economy, with significant exposure to resources, agriculture, energy production, defence and service industry bases, and a large urban centre based on a coastal fringe. As such, the prospects and challenges for the region are very much tied in with those confronting the nation as a whole.

 

This study has examined the longer term influences which are likely to shape the Hunter economy over the next two decades, both across the lower and upper parts of the region. The study contains a number of possible actions and priorities, relevant to both government and business, for enhancing the region’s economic potential going forward and to drive a more dynamic and sustainable region.