EVOCITIES in its current form has been scrapped as the board gives itself more time to map a way forward and come up with a new "model".
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The steering committee for the regional relocation marketing scheme met in Sydney on Thursday afternoon and formally put the program on ice as support from its members waned.
Late last year, the seven councils were asked to sign onto Evocities for another four years with a memorandum of understanding worth $332,000.
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But that deal is now off the table and Evocities, as it was known, could be dead.
In a statement, it was suggested the brand could live on and new cities could be invited in to the fray.
The committee agreed not to go ahead "with the proposed formal memorandum of understanding at this stage and remain committed to exploring a future collaborative model to attract new residents to their regions".
"During the transition period the Evocities and Evojobs platforms will continue to be available for our communities and for potential relocators," chairman and Albury mayor Kevin Mack said.
"We will keep responding to enquiries in addition to maintaining engagement with the thousands of potential relocators who are currently engaged with the program."
The program was launched in September 2010 and it has "collectively welcomed more than 3960 households" to the various regions.
At its peak, Evocities' members included Albury, Armidale, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange, Tamworth and Wagga.
In recent months, Wagga and Armidale opted out while Orange only committed for a year.
"Regional relocation and skills attraction remain priorities for our cities and we are keen to continue exploring the opportunity of expanding as there is certainly capacity in the Evocities brand to incorporate additional regional cities" Cr Mack 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.
