Next Gen Gunnedah is quickly making a name for itself, from packed-out networking nights to a place among some of the country’s most influential voices on regional Australia.
The volunteer-run group, a subcommittee of the Gunnedah Chamber of Commerce, has hosted about six or seven events over the past year, drawing close to 150 young people from across town into conversations on agriculture, business and community care.
Its latest achievement: seeing Treasurer Mel Bartlett selected as one of just 20 not-for-profit representatives chosen from more than 100 applicants nationwide to attend the Regional Australia Institute’s Regions Rising National Summit in Canberra on Monday, 14 September.
This year’s summit, themed People Power 2026, was held at the Great Hall in Parliament House and ran across a full day of keynote addresses and panel discussions, with speakers including Minister for Regional Development Kristy McBain, economist Ken Henry and Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood.
Next Gen Gunnedah made a significant financial commitment to send Ms Bartlett to the summit on behalf of the group and the wider community, a notable outlay for a committee that runs entirely on volunteer effort.
For Ms Bartlett, the trip left a lasting impression.
“The biggest takeaway that I took from the Summit was the power of the people,” said Ms Bartlett. “If you want something done in your town, get involved with your local council, speak to your council; they’re there to represent you.”
Among the standout moments was hearing from the Chief Executive of the Regional Australia Institute, Liz Ritchie.
“The passion that came from her as she was speaking was so good,” said Ms Bartlett. “She’s not just standing at a podium talking about it; she’s making things happen, which is really exciting.”
Ms Bartlett said the summit reinforced how much regional Australia contributes to the national economy.
“The theme I picked up on is how much regional Australia is underestimated,” said Ms Bartlett. “I think we make up a third of the population and we contribute to around 30 per cent of GDP for the country.”
Ms Bartlett and her husband run an agricultural contracting business, and she has recently branched out into her own bookkeeping venture. The family has lived in Gunnedah for nearly six years, having grown up in the Gilgandra area.
“I’m invested in the town; we’ve put roots down; we’re going to be here for a long time,” said Ms Bartlett. “I don’t want to be one of the people who complains about things that aren’t happening, like being involved, make changes if I want to see changes – the kids are going to grow up here, so I’m invested, I want to be part of it.”
Next Gen Gunnedah launched in May last year as a subcommittee of the Gunnedah Chamber of Commerce, and has grown to around 10 members and 6 committee members.
President Georgia Campbell said the group’s events cover everything from professional development workshops to guest speaker nights.
“I guess we could consider ourselves as a young businessperson’s group, but we’re really for everyone in the kind of way that we do things,” said Ms Campbell. “So we have lots of \networking and guest speaker nights; we’ll have professional development workshops for certain industries as well.”
Ms Campbell, who works as a program and policy director for a farming group and also runs a carpentry and landscaping business with her partner, moved to Gunnedah from Sydney two and a half years ago.
“We moved from Sydney because we just couldn’t afford to live there,” said Ms Campbell. “You know, the lifestyle out here, the businesses we’ve been able to connect with, the business that we’ve been able to set up and be a part of is just amazing. And so it’s just about making sure that more young people have access to that kind of network through NextGen.”
Ms Campbell said the opportunities for young people in Gunnedah are significant, and that a big part of Next Gen’s purpose is making sure young people know how to access them.
“I think the opportunities for young people are just enormous out here, but now it’s how can we make sure young people understand that, and if they go off to uni or go and get a trade, they should come back and build it into the town here,” said Ms Campbell.
A driving passion behind her own involvement, Ms Campbell said, is making sure young people have a say in how decisions affecting their town are made.
“I’m really passionate about making sure young people have a seat at the table, whether that’s council, state, federal, government,” said Ms Campbell. “I’m trying to just help other people understand it’s actually not that hard to write a letter to your MP if you’ve got an issue with something.”
Ms Campbell said local councils are often more approachable than young people realise.
“The council is actually incredibly accessible, even though they might have that council name tag,” said Ms Campbell. “They are there to help and how to connect people with services that the council offers, things like free DA assessments and things here in town. So people who are looking to buy a premises for a business might not know that, and so we can say ‘ok well, how can we get you in the room with them?'”
Beyond connecting members to government, Next Gen also links younger members with established figures in the business community.
“Others in the group are just really passionate about connecting people to mentors – people who have established businesses in town and maybe looking to kind of move on into that next stage of their career,” said Ms Campbell, “and so young people can step into that and learn from that.”
Membership of Next Gen Gunnedah is open to anyone connected to the region, with an informal guide of under 35 years of age, and costs 50 dollars a year, including discounted event tickets. Members of the Gunnedah Chamber of Commerce are automatically included.
A recent Next Gen event on support services for Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis in the region drew 20 to 21 attendees, reflecting the group’s broader focus beyond business networking.
“You’ve got teachers, you’ve got nurses, you’ve got all those other services that aren’t running their own business,” said Ms Campbell. “Offering that connection into the community and access to that professional development and networking, that I wouldn’t get if I was just a standard chamber member.”
Ms Campbell said serving on the committee itself builds skills that are often overlooked.
“I think that’s underestimated in a lot of volunteer committees,” said Ms Campbell, of the experience gained from chairing meetings and taking minutes as part of Next Gen’s leadership team.
Ms Bartlett said Gunnedah’s selection among more than 100 applicants likely came down to the diversity of the committee.
“I think they were just after a very diverse network to give this opportunity to,” said Ms Bartlett. “I think we must have just ticked a few boxes for the fact that we’re a subcommittee, the chamber, obviously regional, but a lot of young people. I think probably the interest from the selection committee came from the fact that we’re moving, grooving and achieving things.”
Next Gen Gunnedah will hold its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, 14 October, with the group encouraging anyone interested in joining to attend.
Asked what she would say to someone in Gunnedah not yet involved in the Chamber or Next Gen, Ms Bartlett had a simple answer.
“I would say that if there’s something you want changed, be part of the change,” said Ms Bartlett. “If you’re under 35 and you want to change something or you want to know how something’s done, we have so many avenues and so many skill sets within our team; just come be part of it.”
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