If we were to look at Australia as a machine, regional Australia would be the engine room.

While it can be easy to attempt to define Australia solely by its capital cities, with their fast-paced change and innovation, it’s in our regional centres that advancement really gets its legs.

It produces the food we eat (80% in fact), the raw materials that power global industries, and the renewable energy set to shape our future. Despite housing one-third of our population, regional Australia accounts for approximately 40% of Australia’s GDP (roughly 1 trillion) – particularly through agriculture, mining, energy, manufacturing and exports.

Despite its contribution, regional Australia continues to face a frustrating contradiction, that while it is essential to the country’s prosperity, it is too often overlooked when it comes to investment, services and policy.

Regional communities are usually asked to bear the nuts and bolts of our advancements, through data centres, intrusive powerlines and renewable energy developments, but rarely see the lion’s share of the benefits.

Regional development has long been viewed through the lens of infrastructure—roads, rail, ports and telecommunications. While these remain critical, the future of regional Australia depends on something much broader: creating communities where people can build careers, access healthcare and education, start businesses and choose to stay.

Through our extensive work within regional centres across industries such as wine, telecommunications, renewable energy, and housing infrastructure, the clear message we received from communities time and time again is ‘What’s in it for us?’

These communities are (rightly so) sceptical of industry and government promises of jobs, growth and money pouring into the regions around big developments.

The latest major proposed work is from Nasdaq-listed tech company IREN, who hope to build a massive data centre by 2028 in the community of Bundey, two-and-a-half hours north-east of Adelaide.

At a time when both water and power is scare in regional areas, the centre will need up to 800 megawatts of electricity, the equivalent of powering around 800,000 Australian homes.

While the state and local governments believe that the proposal will be a ‘shot in the arm’ for the struggling area, with 500 job created during construction and 200 ongoing positions post- detractors like Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young are more sceptical about the impact vs outcomes.

In an article via the ABC, Senator Hanson- Young argued, “These companies are coming to Australia because they see that we are cheap pickings, and that’s because the governments, state and federal, are just rolling over and at the end of the day, it’ll be the community that carries the burden.”

While jobs are one issue in the regions, they come with a whole host of others that were only exacerbated by COVID. Along with workforce shortages, there are ageing populations and the loss of younger residents to metropolitan centres. Access to healthcare remains uneven, housing shortages are becoming increasingly acute, digital connectivity still lags in many areas, and climate-related events—from droughts to floods and bushfires—continue to place enormous pressure on local economies and livelihoods.

These pressures are not isolated—they are interconnected. Businesses cannot grow without workers. Workers cannot relocate without housing. Families are less likely to settle without schools, healthcare and reliable services.

At the same time, regional Australia stands at the centre of some of the country’s greatest opportunities. The opportunity facing Australia is no longer simply about supporting regional communities—but about recognising them as central to Australia’s future economic growth.

Success, however, requires investment that extends beyond individual projects. It demands long-term thinking around workforce development, skills, housing, healthcare, transport, digital infrastructure and community services. It also requires genuine collaboration between governments, industry and local communities to ensure development reflects regional priorities rather than metropolitan assumptions.

Proper and concerted effort to make sure the bulk of the community is consulted – and that they have all the information they need on upcoming developments in their area. Communities can only thrive when they have confidence in their future, and that confidence comes from a sense of proper care and investment on behalf of both government and industry.

As we navigate energy transition, population growth and changing global markets, our regional communities need to be a part of the conversation – in a way that honours their contribution and the realities of rural living.

Square Holes is a cultural insight studio.

We design mixed-method explorations of people and culture beyond the category, uncovering the patterns, tensions and shifts shaping behaviour to inform strategy, inspire innovation and enable confident decisions. Our studio model brings together the right mix of thinkers, researchers and specialists for each exploration.

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