Mr Glentworth is guest speaker at the March 17 meeting.
“Neil‘s no nonsense and inspiring approach has delighted our members at previous breakfasts,” Mr Goodman said.
“We have welcomed him back, to present a much higher level version on what he has spoken about previously..to grow this region, to attract new business and outside investment and to create new jobs. Gympie Chamber of Commerce president Tony Goodman thanks business and political analyst Neil Glentworth during his last address to the Gympie business community.
“The other reason being that, the direction the Chamber has taken over the last two years has resonated with our members and the business community, that has seen standing room only breakfast events and that has created a lot of momentum going forward.”
Gympie Chamber of Commerce chief Tony Goodman said the region could be on the cusp of a âroaring 20sâ economy as its Gross Regional Product bucked the state trend.
Data from online hub Economyid revealed the regionâs GRP grew $37 million between June 2019 and June 2020, to sit at $2.237 billion, an increase of 1.69 per cent on the year.
This jump was in direct contrast to Queenslandâs GRP which fell o. 4 per cent from $373.7 billion to $372 billion; this was the first time the stateâs GRP fell in more than 20 years.
The region was expected to continue weathering the pandemicâs fallout better than the state, too.
Wide Bay Director of Regional Development Scott Rowe
Mr Rowe said more than 700 jobs had been lost in the region by the September 2020 quarter compared to 12 months earlier “so the increase in ABNs has not resulted in increased employment”.
Industries hit hard by COVID can expect a boost this year from construction activity, which will flow on to accommodation and hospitality businesses in the region, he said.
A big part of this will be from contract workers employed on construction of the $1 billion Gympie Bypass.
Last August, the Gympie region was identified as one which could potentially be at more serious risk of economic damage from the pandemic due to the nature of its dominant industries.