Kylie White has been appointed Interim Chief Executive Officer for the newly formed Latrobe Valley Authority, which brings government, businesses and community together to deliver on the recently-announced $266 million funding by the Victorian Government.
Kylie said this is an important opportunity to work with local people to revitalise Latrobe Valley’s economy and communities: “This a significant investment, and I have no doubt that it will make a huge difference to the lives of people in the Valley.”
“The Latrobe Valley Authority reports directly to the Premier, which means people here in the greater Latrobe Valley area have a new way to be heard directly at the highest levels of Government.”
“There’s already lots of work underway, we’ve been working hard meeting with local organisations and businesses to hear what they would like to do. We have also met with all levels of government to make sure our efforts are well coordinated and result in lasting benefits for our community.”
“I’m confident in the weeks and months ahead, that local people will start to experience many positive changes across the greater Latrobe Valley area.”
“This is a huge transition period for many local families. Dedicated case workers are available at our office in Morwell or via phone and have been providing help to anyone needing counselling or personal support.”
“We are working on getting small businesses to grow and big businesses to invest. The $50 million Economic Growth Zone is funding to reimburse local businesses of duties and fees they incur when expanding or starting up. You can speak to one of our staff to find out how to access this.”
The Small Business Bus will be in town over the coming weeks to provide local businesses with free one-on-one confidential advice in areas such as business planning, finance, marketing and sales. The Bus is staffed by information officers and experienced business mentors who are looking forward to working with local business people. Mentoring will also be run in nearby council facilities.
The Small Business Bus will be located in:
- Morwell (at the Latrobe City Council offices at 141 Commercial Road) – Tuesday 15 November (1-6pm), Wednesday 16 November, Monday 28 November and Thursday 1 December (all three days 7am – 6pm)
- Moe (at the Latrobe City Council Customer Service Centre at 23 George Street) – Tuesday 29 November (7am – 6pm)
- Traralgon (outside the DELWP office at 71 Hotham Street) – Thursday 17 November and Wednesday 30 November (both days 7am – 6pm)
“We look forward to hearing from people at the upcoming Gippsland Regional Assembly on 17 November, where local people will be able to have their say about what matters to them and have their voices reach the heart of Government.”
You can have your say, book a mentoring session on the Small Business Bus, or get business support information at lva.vic.gov.au, call 1800 136 762, visit us at 131 Princes Drive Morwell, or like the Authority’s Facebook page.