ABOUT THE REGION

Why The Hunter?

The Hunter offers that rare and highly valued balance of opportunity and lifestyle; a vibrant city-region with a thriving, diverse economy and liveability that is the envy of others nationwide.

With a Gross Regional Product of more than $60 billion, the Hunter is Australia’s leading regional economy – generating more wealth annually than Tasmania, the Northern Territory or the ACT.

It has a mature, multi-faceted economy and a skilled workforce, with traditional strengths in mining and advanced manufacturing complemented by fast-growing service and knowledge sectors, a $1 billion creative industry and a developing digital economy.

The Hunter region is an education and innovation hub, where good ideas flourish – be it from savvy start-ups taking new products and processes to market or world-class research institutes producing globally significant advances in health and medicine, aerospace, industrial processes and renewable energy technologies.

It is home to the internationally renowned Hunter Medical Research Institute,  Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources, Hunter Research Foundation Centre,  CSIRO Energy Centre and a globally ranked university with 37,000 students.

The Hunter’s two global gateways – the deep-water Port of Newcastle and Newcastle Airport – connect the region to national and world markets, supported by a sophisticated transport and logistics network that keeps products moving efficiently and effectively.

Serviced industrial and commercial land is plentiful across the region, there are substantial opportunities for greenfield development and tens of thousands of square metres of prime new office space is being developed, both in the revitalised CBD and other economic hubs across the region.

But the Hunter is more than an economic powerhouse. It’s also a great place to live, with a beachside metropolitan city at its heart, vibrant town centres across its 10 interlinked local government areas and a network of rural towns and villages that support thriving agriculture, viticulture, tourism, mining and equine industries.

There are hip bars and cosmopolitan cafés to unwind in after work and on weekends, a flourishing arts and music scene, as well as beaches, vineyards and vast areas of unspoiled wilderness to explore in your down time.