Australian Regional Events Alliance: Meet GarryO’Dell

I am a qualified, professional town planner with a long interest in tourism and events drawn from my involvement in the NSW Hunter Valley.

Professionally, I have worked in various town planning roles in a large council between Newcastle and Sydney, followed by a role as Director and part-owner of a multi-disciplinary firm of more than 50 architects, planners, landscape architects and ecologists. And then as a sole practitioner in my planning consultancy.

Since July 2012, I have been researching the regulation of events in NSW at the University of Newcastle. This research draws from interviews of legislators, event organisers and local government staff in the Hunter Region of NSW. 

To date, the research shows that there are many participants, variations in the events process, the complexity of rules, conflicting responsibilities, and the inconsistencies in regulating events. Event regulation varies within and between councils. The mobility of some events allows them to migrate towards a more straightforward process away from difficult public servants, potential biases, and complicated processes. I want to improve this situation.

My involvement in AREA (Australian Regional Events Alliance) stemmed from an initial Covid-driven zoom gathering of events industry (initiated by Linda Tillman) concerned about the future of events, particularly in regional areas. I also recognised that there was no central voice for events that could compile data and advocate for the industry. 

My involvement and knowledge of the regulation of events bring a missing piece to the event’s discussion; namely, all events must work with governments and follow the rules and procedures, so we need to understand how they work and not complain about red tape and delay. 

I have several critical actions for my involvement with AREA: 

1. Facilitate a consistent strategic framework for local governments events that helps plan when, where and how often should be permitted. 
2. Develop a consistency of data used to identify the costs and benefits of events from all levels of government. 
3. Work with the Australian Bureau of Statistics to collect useable event data. 
4. Compile examples of best practices regarding local government approval processes to minimise a perceived conflict of interest between the local government roles as a venue owner, sponsor, and regulator of events.

I would welcome examples of event regulation practices from both local event operators and local governments, confidentially.