Northern Midland business success celebrated

More than 130 people attended The Northern Midlands Business Association’s Future of Tasmanian Business event on October 22 at Woolmers Estate, Longford.  

The evening celebrated progress, innovation and optimism for the region’s future and was supported by Telstra, NBNCo and Launceston Airport.

The evening opened with an overview of the Association’s recent achievements, including the elimination of most mobile black spots to boost communication and connectivity within the Northern Midlands municipality, the result of ongoing collaboration with Telstra.

The NMBA also highlighted the success of its Illuminate Education Program — the first regional-based initiative in Tasmania to engage every primary school within the Northern Midlands in a week-long entrepreneurship experience. 

Inspired by the creativity and insight of local students, the Association has selected five of the project submissions to develop into real-world community initiatives, with plans already underway to continue the program in 2026.  

The audience was further briefed on NMBA’s contributions to the local economy including:

• $755,000 in direct support benefits to more than 600 local businesses
• Actively lobbied for local infrastructure projects totalling $1.9 million with another $15 million currently being pursued.
• $440,000 community and economic development initiatives

The event’s keynote speakers presented a compelling look at Tasmania’s evolving business landscape. 

Intuit Technologies’ Joakim Karlsson explored how artificial intelligence can enhance both efficiency and human potential, while Ian Jones, chair of Clean Energy Tasmania, outlined opportunities for the state to become the “Battery of the Nation” through projects such as Marinus Link. 

Damien Rhind of KEEN Partners spoke on the importance of youth engagement and creating career pathways that keep young people in Tasmania, and Liam Fox of the Tasmanian Agricultural Education Network shared exciting developments revitalising agricultural education and future farming.

Closing the formal presentations, NBN Co’s Sam Marshall discussed how high-speed connectivity and AI technologies can transform rural healthcare access and outcomes.