What was it all about?

This project, spanning 2014 to 2016, sought to improve communication for the nursery and garden industry. It was prompted by the Nursery Industry Strategic Investment Plan (2012-2016) which prioritised improved internal and external communication to facilitate informed decision making within the industry.

The project supported hosting of two national Nursery & Garden Industry conferences, in 2014 and 2016, and one series of regional conferences held throughout Australia during the period June to November 2015.

The conferences delivered a number of benefits for the industry including improvements in:

• Coordinated management and integration of industry programs
  
  
• Industry development through communication of industry best practice
  
  
• Informed decision making through targeted communication of business and technical data 
  
  
• Enhanced industry professionalism through accreditation and recognition. 

Events were attended by representatives from the Australian Government, demonstrating their importance as a communication channel between government and industry.

Speakers of note at the national conferences included the Minister for the Environment, Greg Hunt, at the 2014 National Conference, and Assistant the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Senator Anne Ruston, at the conference in 2016.

The regional conferences were held by state organisations in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia to address matters of local importance with regional stakeholders.

Recommendations to improve future conferences were delivered in the project’s final report.