A report back to Toowoomba Regional Council’s (TRC) Economic Development Committee has highlighted key learnings from the recent South East Queensland Council of Mayors’ delegation to North America.
Toowoomba Region Mayor Paul Antonio was one of nine South East Queensland Council Mayors that visited San Francisco, Vancouver and Los Angeles County in February.
Key purposes of the mission were around managing population growth, regional connectivity, climate resilience and Olympic Games legacy. Los Angeles is set to host the games in 2028 and will hand the Olympic torch to Brisbane 2032.
Toowoomba Region Mayor Paul Antonio said the delegation was an important learning opportunity ahead of an unprecedented decade of infrastructure spending and growth for South East Queensland.
“There’s absolutely no doubt that the Olympic Games coming to Brisbane in 9 years’ time in 2032 will stimulate unprecedented infrastructure spending and growth and that’s why Council of Mayors (SEQ) organised this important delegation.
“To go over there with other Mayors from across South East Queensland who collectively represent more than 3 million people was a very worthwhile exercise.
“I was pleased that Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise Project Manager for Olympic Strategy and Legacy Mark Mason was also able to attend and bring back ideas on how Toowoomba can maximise Olympic Games opportunities,” Mayor Antonio said.
The mission wasn’t all about the Olympic Games however with meetings with organisations such as Metro Vancouver which is a federation that collectively plans for and delivers regional-scale services on issues of common concern such as direct growth to good transit-orientated locations.
“The delegation was impressed with Metro Vancouver’s ability to undertake a long-term and coordinated approach to regional growth and transport investment, by uniting its local government partners, along with the Provincial and Federal Governments.
“It’s that exact collaborative approach that the Council of Mayors (SEQ) works towards in the delivery of infrastructure for the region,” Mayor Antonio said.
Of particular relevance to the Toowoomba Region was a visit by the delegation to the Virgin Orbit Production Facility in Long Beach, California where the group met a number of key Virgin Orbit personnel.
“It was a great experience to visit the Virgin Orbit Production facility where they design and build the LauncherOne rocket which is the very rocket that Virgin Orbit intends to utilise Wellcamp Airport to launch their rockets mid-air from a modified 747-400 carrier aircraft.
“Toowoomba will become just the 3rd location worldwide where Virgin Orbit will launch the LauncherOne rockets for the purposes of climate monitoring, telecommunications and asset tracking so it was a real privilege to visit the site where the rockets are made.
“We will take many learnings away from the mission that will benefit the Toowoomba Region in the near future,” Mayor Antonio said.
