Category: Opinions & Research
A Transition Built on Sand: The Original LDS Plan and the 2030 Assumption – 2
In 2019 the Victorian Forestry Plan set a 2030 end date for native harvesting. That ten year horizon shaped every part of the transition. When the date was brought forward by six years, the logic collapsed. Part 2 examines how an interrupted timeline left towns exposed before the real work could begin.
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The Myth of Blame: Why AKD’s Closure Wasn’t Caused by the Native Timber Ban – 1
AKD Yarram’s closure has been framed as a casualty of the native timber ban, but that story collapses two different industries into one. The mill processed softwood, not native hardwood. The real causes were national construction turbulence and a compressed transition timeline that left towns exposed.
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When a town becomes the Shock Absorber
The closure of AKD’s Yarram mill is more than a job loss. It’s a systemic emergency that exposes how vulnerable small towns become when economic shocks arrive without a formal response system. Yarram’s community is already mobilising, but goodwill alone can’t carry what should be a structured, predictable framework for regional crises.
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We Misread the Whole System – Yarram Paid the Price
The AKD mill didn’t close because housing collapsed – it closed because two long-running structural failures collided in one town. Here’s what really happened, and what Yarram needs next.
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Lessons From the Country Store: What Big Retail Forgot About Trust
Small country towns show how trust, reciprocity, and human scale create a stronger retail model. This article explains why Gen Z aligns with country retail and what big brands can learn.
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When You Can’t Leave: Designing for the Flight Reflex in Airports, Venues, and Hospitals
In high-stimulus public spaces, our bodies do more than react – they strategise.
Airports, hospitals, and stadiums all evoke subtle “Flight” responses: scanning, pacing, early exits.
Understanding how threat appraisal drives behaviour can help architects and planners design calmer spaces – and reveal why relaxation, not excitement, predicts dwell, spend, and satisfaction.
Two Kinds of Freedom: Charlie Kirk & Dianne Keaton
Pink asked, “If Charlie Kirk is Freedom, what is Dianne Keaton?” It wasn’t just a jab – it was a diagnosis. One man was honoured for defiance, one woman mourned for grace. Together they reveal how a culture’s definition of freedom has shifted from authenticity to spectacle.
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Small Towns, Big Relief: Nostalgia, Tradition, and the Break From Self
Small towns do more than change the scenery. They give visitors a break from themselves. This piece unpacks how nostalgia and tradition create identity relief that boosts spend, dwell time, and community value. Practical takeaways for tourism, luxury, food, museums, and policy.
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Opportunism or Partnership? The Ethics of Regional Investment
Regional investment can bring jobs and services, but also resentment when trust is broken. This article explores reciprocity, legitimacy, and the ethics of belonging in small towns.
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Urban Refugees: When City Migrants Rewrite Country Life
City migrants bring renewal to small towns but also risk reshaping them in ways that erode what made them attractive. This article explores the café paradox, the culture clash, and why belonging is earned, not claimed.
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Why Big Business Struggles to Belong in Small Towns
When big business arrives in a small town, success isn’t measured only in sales. Southerly Ten’s patience in Gippsland shows how trust can be earned, while Woolworths and Bendigo Bank reveal how quickly it can be lost. Small towns measure belonging not in quarters, but in decades. This article explores why culture, memory, and legitimacy matter more than profit when corporates cross the town gate.
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The Last Ten Minutes of Luxury
Guests pay for days yet remember minutes. The peak end rule explains why a stay often lives or dies on one high moment and the day of departure. What works, what fails, and how to design the arc so memory carries your brand home.
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