LIVMEDIA

𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗘𝘅𝗵𝗶𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 🎬

An exhibition and film exploring the future of post-mining landscapes is coming to the Upper Hunter as part of the Australian Research Council (ARC) funded project Mining Voids and Just Transition: Reimagining Post-Mining Landscapes.

The first stop is Scone, where the exhibition will be on display this weekend on 7 and 8 March at Scone Arts and Crafts Inc. The venue has historical significance, having hosted the Upper Hunter Valley’s first environmental exhibition in 1979.

The exhibition launch and film screening will take place on Saturday from 5.30pm and will bring together local stories and perspectives about the future of the Valley.

Community members from , , , , , and across the UpperHunter are invited to attend, including mine workers, farmers, business representatives, students and anyone interested in the region’s future.

For catering purposes, please register here https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/exhibition-opening-and-film-screening-scone-tickets-1983993522032?aff=oddtdtcreator

Spending a Sunday afternoon looking at childhood photos with your family should totally be a thing 🥰

I found this one, me posing with my baton as a majorette, full of excitement and confidence. I loved being part of the team, the music, the cheers, and the feeling of belonging somewhere special.

I saw the “This is who” trend on my feed and thought I’d join in 📸

This is who I am. That little girl who loved marching with the team, leading, and connecting with people is still me today. The baton might be gone, and there may be 16,800km between my English home and my Australian home, but the passion and drive to bring people together live on in this little business I am proud to run and the people I am lucky enough to work with.

And yes, I can still twirl… and strike a pose 🤪

Also… “A Kind of Magic” was our main performance song one year!

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗴𝗼?

I have a love–hate relationship with my personal page. These days I mostly use it to check my “On This Day” memories, and this one just popped up:

"Well, it’s time for this bird to spread her wings… After seven amazing years, I’m leaving the Muswellbrook Chronicle/Hunter Valley News to start a new job in Queenstown, New Zealand, with Travel New Zealand Magazine. Once again, I’m packing up my life and leaving family and friends behind to begin a new adventure in another country. Thank you to everyone who helped me along the way. I learned so much from you all. xox"

I didn’t know it then, but that decision was laying the foundation for everything that came next. I wish I could tell 28-year-old me that those scary steps were vital… that a winter in the adventure capital, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, discovering a new community, and learning how tourism and storytelling can shape a place would become the defining chapter of my career ❄️

𝑷.𝑺. 𝑾𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝑴𝒆 𝑼𝒑 𝒃𝒚 𝑨𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒚 2013 𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝒁𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒌 🎶

𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗺𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 🌸

“If my Instagram feed were a diet, it would be one riddled with ultra-processed junk food and almost no vegetables or greens. All pleasure, zero nutrition.”

I recently heard this on the ABC Long Read / Background Briefing episode How Social Media Algorithms Decide Who You Are, by journalist Priyanka Srinivasan, and wow, how true that is.

I love the notion of , choosing to use social media more intentionally and creating positive, curated feeds. As the algorithm responds, it shows more of what we choose to engage with and the positive emotions that content evokes ☺️

I honestly believe we will see more of this, especially as platforms introduce options to “see less” and give users greater control over their feeds.

All of this is great for users, but it also challenges those posting to consider the emotional impact of their content and the possibility that it could drive disengagement💡

📸

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗕𝗼𝘄𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻 🍜

Great to be in Newcastle today after spending quite a bit of time up north. I had some fantastic conversations on big topics that continue to shape how we think about the future of industry in regional Australia 💡

Innovation has increasingly been a focus, and as someone reminded me recently, innovation can be small. It does not always have to be bigger. Sometimes it is about doing things better, even a tad.

I packed my walking shoes to enjoy the sunshine in the city, along with my new three piece bamboo laptop stand (thanks ALDI Australia!), which has proven very handy for working on the road 🚗

On the way home, I squeezed in a call with a new Gladstone contact, who shared their work on all things decarbonisation and mapping carbon footprints in business. It was a fantastic conversation that deepened my own understanding of how even the smallest businesses can identify and measure their Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and subsequently plan to reduce them. This fits perfectly with the energy education and business diversification programs I am working on, because before we can improve energy use or reduce emissions, we first need to understand our own contribution and footprint.

All in all, a great day topped off with the best bowl of ramen I've ever had 😍

𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁.

Step out of daily operations, focus on potential, and build the next version of your business in Claire Quigley - Tech Team Whisperer, 10x Business Leader online and offline workshops this month ⬇️

“𝗪𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸.”
But nobody turned up.

“𝗪𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸.”
But I didn’t know it was on.

This exchange plays out more often than many businesses would like to admit.

Relying on Facebook (or Instagram) as a primary channel for connecting with audiences is increasingly problematic, particularly in regional towns. Organic reach on Facebook posts in Australia has dropped dramatically, with pay-to-play models now dominant, yet many audiences remain wary of sponsored content.

When communication relies on social media, it can lead to low engagement and give the impression that audiences are disengaged. In reality, people may simply not have seen the message, not trusted the source, or not felt connected to it, which prevents online awareness from translating into participation.

Effective engagement is not algorithm driven. It is built on relationships, local context, trusted voices, and place-based approaches.

Social media can play a role, but it cannot carry the responsibility alone.

If social media is the engagement strategy, it may be time to rethink the approach.

𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒚, LIVMEDIA 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒔-𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 📧 𝒍𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒂@𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂.𝒄𝒐𝒎.𝒂𝒖

𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗻 #𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵 🐊

Conservation through commerce is a term I had not heard until I visited Koorana Crocodile Farm, located in Coowonga south of Yeppoon.

It describes an approach where economic activity, including regulated trade, eco-tourism, and sustainable products, creates both funding and incentives to protect natural resources and biodiversity 🌏

Koorana Crocodile Farm was Queensland’s first commercial crocodile farm, opening in 1981 with just three crocodiles. Today it supports a population of more than 3,000 animals and plays a role in local employment, tourism, and supply chains.

Crocodile leather is the farm’s primary product, with visitors able to learn about the entire process and even select skins for custom R.M.Williams boots priced at $4,999. Crocodile meat, as a by-product, also features on the menu.

My biggest takeaway from this "snap-decision" visit was a reminder that industry, regardless of sector, has the potential to be transformed into a tourism experience through integrated storytelling, education and visitor access, showing how regional economies can diversify 💡

As for all my travel: 1) I’m living my working road trip dream, and 2) I’m gathering insights to support regional businesses, all while working away on my very own diversification venture.

Oh, and my favourite croc was not one of the absolute monsters, but AMI, short for Anger Management Issues.

𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗻, 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: 𝗠𝘆 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶 👩🏼‍💻

Well, it’s been an entire week since my impromptu stay in , and while the visit itself was short, it’s certainly left a lasting impression and made my return workload in the Hunter a little busier.

I’ve finally had a moment to gather my thoughts and give this post the justice it deserves, because there was a lot to take in 💭

I’ve been fortunate to meet Bec from the Goondiwindi Chamber of Commerce through The Regional Australia Institute leadership program I’m currently participating in, alongside peers from across the country.

What started as a quick in-person hello while I was in Bec's neck of the woods quickly turned into an overnight stay on Tuesday in the cutest cottage, a more-than-century-old shearers’ hut turned 🌾

The following morning, Bec kindly picked me up and took me on a tour of the town, sharing local history, pointing out a stack of businesses doing great things, and offering the kind of insight you only get from someone who genuinely loves their community.

That was followed by a very insightful business breakfast with Will from Growth Agriculture, and Angela from the Future Care Project, both doing awesome things in their respective industries 👏

For a town of just over 6,000 people, Goondiwindi is absolutely punching above its weight.

It is home to a microalgae production facility, and the region is developing a hydrogen project linked to wastewater treatment. The local cotton industry has explored circular solutions by trialling shredded cotton garments returned to paddocks to benefit soil health. Bob Geldof even performed there in the 1990s 🎤

Regional , , and a are happening in real-time, making Goondiwindi a remarkable example of what smaller communities can achieve.

Talk about a warm welcome 🥰

Sharing knowledge between regional communities has never been more important, because the challenges we face are rarely unique. If one community is looking for a solution, chances are another has already found it or is well on the way.

Literally standing on the border of Queensland and NSW while working across both 📲

Yesterday I planned a quick stop in to meet the amazing Bec from Goondiwindi Chamber of Commerce in person and ended up booking a farm stay and meeting local businesses for breakfast, all thanks to her. I’m so excited by those conversations and where they’ll lead.

Watch this space for a more insightful update (I do love a short story long!) once I’ve finished a drive that should have been a lot quicker 👩🏼‍💻

𝗢𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 🤝

Last week was a big one on the road, travelling around Central Queensland with a full day of meetings in . The work we do involves understanding solutions and opportunities in similar regions so we can use this knowledge to support our clients, particularly businesses in industry supply chains.

On Thursday, I had the pleasure of meeting with insightful representatives from the Gladstone Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Connecting Industry, and the Gladstone Engineering Alliance, with that final meeting offering a very impressive view of the NRG Power Station🔋

I also managed to fit in catch-ups at some of the region’s best hospitality spots, including .co (highly recommend the French Salad!) and . I loved hearing how this century-old site is thriving again as a craft brewery. It sounds like quite a familiar story 😉

Throughout the day, we collectively touched on many of the Hunter Valley’s aligned key priorities:

▫️ Industry supply chains
▫️ Investment and attraction
▫️ Diversification and decarbonisation
▫️ Business capability and capacity
▫️ Sponsorships and donations
▫️ Community benefits

I am looking forward to sharing these insights with LIVMEDIA clients looking to diversify into new industries and, for some, expand into new areas📍