Slide 1

Hello, my name is Abdul Rakib I am here to talk about Dowerin. Dowerin is a small town which
emphasizes on Agriculture with its vast land. It has Rusty the Tin Dog and a lovely community. Dowerin
is home some of nature’s most beautiful sites like the pink lake which attracts a lot of tourist.

Slide 2

Dowerin is a small town situated in the whatbelt region just above Perth. Its land mass is approx. 1847
square km and its population is around 690 spread overall in the local government region. The town
itself is said to have a population of around 400 but the LGA has counted 671, there is unity and
understanding among the population where everyone comes together to volunteer to manage the
event of Field day. Dowerin has 5.28: 1 income to mortgage ratio while Perth Has 3.28: 1 which makes
the people of Dowerin less constrained in income than Perth which adds to their standard of living.

Slide 3

We have census statistics showing the same measure that Dowerin has a lower mortgage rate and more
people own houses in Dowerin. 52% of houses are owned without a mortgage in Dowerin while Perth
only 28% of houses are owned without a mortgage. There are a small number of people living in
Australia who are foreign migrants this shows that Dowerin is not attractive for foreign migrants. The
statistics shows that people are coming to Dowerin for work but go back to raise their families which is a
concerning for the youth population of Dowerin.

Slide 4

Just like we talked about the concern for youths in Dowerin. These charts show the concerning lack of
youths in Dowerin which is primarily because of the lack of Tertiary Education and Innovative job
opportunities in Dowerin. Although this also means that the youths who left for a better future from
Dowerin tend to comeback to Dowerin to see their ageing parent if they are in close proximity. In the
charts below there are it shows the percentage of people working which sector and most are employed
in the Agriculture sector which is not concerning but an indicator to the job preference to the people in
town. mOre people are employed in Age care sector and typical retail jobs in Perth are absent in
Dowerin.

Slide 5

The table above shows the internal and overseas migration of Dowerin, although there is an increasing
internal arrival to Dowerin but the Net migration has been and still is negative in Dowerin. This may
translate to be a bad idea for the people thinking to enter Dowerin. The chart below shows the number
of businesses that exited Dowerin over the years and the numbers are ever increasing over the years
which may be and indicator that people are implementing their ideas but due to the lack of
infrastructure they are unable to taste success.

Slide 6

The table above shows the number of businesses in every industry, Evidently the most businesses tend
to be in the Agriculture, forestry and Fishing sector but there are traces of business in Manufacturing
and Construction that shows that Dowerin is moving into Innovation and are open to changing their
dependence on Farming. The table below shows the residential property prices in Dowerin, in
comparison to Perth’s $250,000 per house Dowerin’s $100,000 houses are quite attractive.

Slide 7

Strength

. Dowerin has a strong tourism base where its field day and Heritage rail events brings in over 25000
people every year and attracts also attracts a number of tourism off-season where the field day alone in
2018 brought in a revenue of $7.2 million and the average profit can be about $180,000 which is solely
used for the development of the town. The farmers of Dowerin are well experienced in growing wheat
which makes them well able to take in large orders for export and also produce their crops while
complying with the 30% water use order imposed by the state government. The People of Dowerin have
a great community engagement with a 35% volunteering rate which gives the people a sense of
Community, identity and place. Their pride community engagement includes the students funding and
help built Rusty the Tin Dog and much more. The people of Dowerin are very empathetic with respect to
greater Perth which gives anyone visiting the town a sense of family as very individual is likely ask and
care about your whereabouts due to their small population. Dowerin is relatively closer to Perth where
the distance is only twice the proximity from Dowerin to Mandurah or Yanchep which makes it a viable
option for tourists to visit and diminishes a barrier for tourists to decide to come to Dowerin. Dowerin
has an established strategic framework including its strategic community plan 2018-2028.

Slide 8

Weaknesses

. Dowerin mostly relies on Farming and this dependability makes it vulnerable to changes in commodity
prices most importantly the exchange rate, a slight change in these factors means that Dowerin looses
their order for export or else they have to sell at a loss which is not viable. Dowerins lack of educational
facilities has caused its loss of its youth as the schools Dowerin are only available till grade 10 and
anyone thinking to go for higher studies have to leave to Perth which divides families causing their
parents to move as well, this also makes the ones who decide to stay in Dowerin for farming to feel
empty. The nearest hospital is 25 kilometers away from Dowerin which is a 50 Km journey for a checkup
which is discouraging and also a frightening distance if there is an emergency. Dowerin has reduced
amenities and a degraded environment due to a large portion of land being burnt. The end goal for
Dowerin is unclear and there is not much for the people to strive for. Everyone has their own ideas and
agendas but there isn’t as clear agenda sub setting all of these opinions. The people of Dowerin are
disinterested to change which begs the question for the Shire to leave everything for them for the
development of Dowerin.

Slide 9

Opportunities (recommendation)

. Dowerin has potential to turn their problems around with the abundance of Chrysoberyl under their
land which will create jobs for the people of Dowerin and attract youths who are currently unemployed
due to the mining companies shutting down nearby. The money generated from the mining companies
can used to pay for the internet towers which requies $100,000 per tower. The Shire can partner in with
nearby town Shires to work in Synergy a which can be beneficial in terms of a good relationship being
created, this means that Dowerin can share its own knowledge and resources such as equipment with
other towns come into a cooperation while keeping the LGA as a common meeting place. Dowerin can
move to eco-tourism which is inviting Australian school children to come to Dowerin to learn more
about environment and climate change while also giving them the Australian experience. This may also
attract farmers from nearby towns to come and learn more about farming and also sharing their own
knowledge with the farmers of Dowerin. Dowerin can also work with local or international NGOs and
build partnerships with to create more opportunities for the people. The Shire of Dowerin can make an
event to showcase and encourage people with exceptional leadership skills and innovative ideas, this
will work as reward for people working for the community, this may even give media exposure to
Dowerin if these events were placed in the Field day or during partnership meetings.

Slide 10

Threats

. Dowerin is highly dependent on grants from the LGa but although the percentage is high Dowerin is
still growing more independent every year hence the change in grant money received may be offset with
the start of the mining industry. Telstra offer of paying 50% for the internet towers may lead to conflicts
with the Shire as the budget may not be as accurate as there can be many factors leading to a change I
the numbers but this can be offset by communicating well with the company about the costs regularly
with transparency. There is also problem of radiation emitting from these towers which may lead to a
degradation to environment to which I would say once development has started fresh minds of youths
will enter the town coming up with better ideas. The concern for global warming may lead more bush
fires in Dowerin where last year there was an increase in 1.3 ºC which may be alarming but the high
Volunteer rate in combatting the fires and the shire coming up ways to make the environment cooler
may work for the future.

Slide 11

Thank you