Our say | We’re stronger together as part of Evocities

When Evocities was launched in 2010 it was a unique promotion bringing together seven regional centres – Bathurst, Orange, Dubbo, Tamworth, Armidale, Albury and Wagga Wagga – in seeking joint marketing opportunities targeting Sydney families interested in making a “tree change”.

These cities would have previously eyed each other as rivals in attracting new families to town but Evocities turned that thinking on its head.

And the results speak for themselves.

Hundreds of families have made the move out of the rat race to take advantage of the more relaxed lifestyles on offer in the regions and Bathurst alone has welcomed 300 new households who have used the Evocities information to help make their decision.

That’s around 1000 new residents.

But Evocities only works when it has the commitment of a reasonable number of councils and the apparent fracturing of support over the past 12 months is the campaign’s greatest threat.

Orange pulled out a year ago in what was a petty, arrogant decision that seemed to say that city believed it was better than the others.

Orange no longer believed it needed to be part of Evocities and was willing to go it alone in terms or marketing and promotion.

Given the city’s high and mighty attitude to the program, it’s regrettable that Orange still appears on the Evocities website and [presumably] is still reaping some of the benefits without coughing up the cash.

That situation has led to a residents’ group in Tamworth now questioning that city’s involvement and it would not surprise to see more cities follow. But, for now, Evocities remains a good investment for all the partners, including Bathurst.

There might come a time when the program has run its race but at $65,000 a year it’s hard to argue that Bathurst is not getting a good return.

But what Orange clearly did not understand is that involvement in Evocities should not be just about what each city can gain but, rather, about the joint promotion of life beyond the Great Divide.

To do that, the Evocities are stronger together.