TAMWORTH’S diverse base of industries will help the city’s business community avoid “devastation” from the current drought.
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That’s the top tip from Tamworth’s newly minted ‘outstanding business leader” Peter Ryan.
My Ryan and his business Inland Technology won two top gongs at the Tamworth Business Chamber awards, with the group also claiming ‘employer of choice’.
More 70 per cent of the chamber’s 350 award nominees flagged drought as the biggest challenge facing their businesses in 2018.
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Mr Ryan said while it was getting called the toughest drought in 100 years, he believed it wasn’t going to lead to devastating downturn in business across the board.
“We’re a diverse business, so we’re not directly affected, but our clients are and when they’re affected it has a flow through effect,” he said.
“It’s a very diverse town, there’s a lot of industries that have been strong for a long time, it will have an impact, but I don’t think it’ll be devastating.”
He said it was an opportunity for governments of all levels to prepare for future droughts.
“Government and council can’t make it rain, but they can gear up for it,” he said.
“We have to look at the opportunity to build more dams and infrastructure that can support.
“We should look at things which lessen that impact in the future so we’re not just firefighting now, but putting things in place to make it easier.”
Mr Ryan said he was surprised to take home the business leader award and was happy to be a finalist, considering the calibre of his competitors.
He said ‘employer of choice’ was a great award to win and put it down to developing flexibility with Inland’s staff to allow more family and work-life-balance.
He said the awards were important because it gave recognition to the hard work being done in the community.
“There was 830 people at the awards, which shows Tamworth is great place to do business, the strength of business and council,” he said.
Jacob McArthur
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
