The Hunter will hear from head of the nation's peak social services body this week, amidst rising cost of living and record-breaking rates of homelessness in the area.
Doctor Cassandra Goldie, chief executive of the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) will speak about progressive social and economic change in the Hunter during the annual Margaret Henry Memorial Lecture.
Dr Goldie told the Newcastle Herald she believes the Hunter is educated and adaptable to take on widespread efforts to reduce poverty, including increased social housing, changes to taxation laws and green energy transition.
On the latter, Dr Goldie said "the writing has been on the wall" for change across more than a decade and ACOSS hopes to support a transition in job opportunities.
This comes just days after heated debate between Newcastle lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes and Opposition's Ted O'Brien during a Newcastle filming of Q+A.
"If given permission, local communities can really generate a great plan about how to transition. It's about getting out of being fearful and talking about the fact this transition is happening," Dr Goldie said. "That enables local businesses to be exploring investment."
Dr Goldie hopes the lecture will give Hunter residents confidence to consider social issues themselves. This includes management of homelessness and regulation of the housing market.
Doing this, she said, allowed community members to engage better with policies that impact them.
"If there was an easy solution to this, we'd have all done it," she said. "We certainly need to learn the lessons and stop adopting policies that are bad in terms of outcomes."
Margaret Henry Memorial Lecture organising committee spokesperson Catherine Henry said Dr Goldie's speech would help consolidate levels of governance in the Hunter.
"We need a conversation about how to bring together all the practical policy levers and grass roots work by business and community organisations to allow all our residents to lead dignified and productive lives," Ms Henry said.
Dr Goldie will speak at Newcastle City Hall on Thursday June 8 from 6:30pm.
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