A viable lifeline and a possible bright future is being opened up for the Queensland College of Wine Tourism, a venue central to the area for two decades.
The facility, which is a joint venture between the University of Southern Queensland and the Queensland State Government, is currently on life support until a new plan is in place for the education facility/restaurant/function centre.
A new plan is exactly what Michelle Feenan, president of the Stanthorpe and Granite Belt Chamber of Commerce, is working on, along with an entire cross-industry group of interested parties called the Collective.
Since early December, the Collective, which includes the Granite Belt Wine Tourism, the Growers Association, the Queensland Wine Industry Association and various other entities, have been organising to put in an Expression of Interest to the Queensland government to take over the facility. They have until March 9 to do so, a short deadline for a very involved submission, but Michelle is confident in success.
“It’s a big submission that needs to speak to what we see as the future model of the precinct, and the future vision: what are the objectives and what are we trying to achieve, and what does that look like and how can we substantiate that those activities can be affordable,” the new president told The Town & Country Journal.
Ms Feenan says the Collective was a reaction to a “crisis situation” when it was discovered that staff at the Wine College would be losing their jobs and “finishing up” in December.
“I engaged with (MP) James Lister and that decision got reversed in 24 hours,” says Michelle.
“The next day we had our first meeting of the Collective,” she explains. “The more we talked the more it became clear that [the wine college] should be led by industry rather than a private consortium” with a group of industries who “know what this region needs” and includes “entrepreneurial thinkers”.
“It’s really a centrepiece for the region – families have had their children go and do certificate training in wine and hospitality – it’s been a lever for them to get into industry in the area,” says Michelle, pointing out how important it is to keep young people in the region who are interested in careers in viticulture, hospitality and tourism.
“We’re preparing a profile on what the college does represent…and we also have ideas about how we can zhuzh it up a little bit.”
The Collective hopes to keep training central to the facility and will conduct a skills gap analysis.
“If you talk to businesses, they’ll tell you they’re screaming out for front of house and back of house, customer service, chefs, cellar door staff,” Michelle says. There are many ways to offer training from certificate courses, RTOs, vocational style options.
“For example, there was a group in Stanthorpe who, through their own business, felt they needed to improve barista skills” and started offering training. That “filled an immediate gap”.
“We’ve got to rebuild that education program and make it more relevant. How to work with AI, drone technology, how that’s transforming our businesses”.
Michelle says the Collective is undaunted by completing a successful EOI, saying that a handpicked group of people with special skills and knowledge of EOIs and business modelling are on the job.
“They know how to work through ventures and turn that into quantifiable measures including what it would take to provide a service and the predicted delivery, funding solutions and project development.”
The Collective is a far cry from the stock standard chamber breakfast meetups, Michelle agrees, and she credits a strong new committee who are “committed to the constitution and improving our economic profile which sets our key priorities in the region, not just networking events, but investment and business development.”
“It’s important to the region”.
Where the funding to take over the Wine College would be sourced from is still “an unknown factor” at this point but seed funds to have third-party financial modelling and preparation has been put up by some of the organisations involved.
Michelle says Varias, located at the college is “a jewel in the crown for the region” and has the potential to celebrate the region more comprehensively.
Michelle is no stranger to either wine, food or hospitality and owns the Ridgemill Estate which she and her husband, Martin, bought after moving from Brisbane in 2020.
“I had my own consultancy where I would do transformational projects like this, like riverway precincts, so I come with those skills as do the other people on the working group.”
This week, the Collective is running seven focus groups at the college to engage with the community and get feedback outside of industry bodies. Michelle admits they’ve “had to work quickly” but professionally, adding, “The level of support is really good, sensational."
