By Luke Voogt
Six “Geelong business leaders” will fly to China in search of “investment opportunities” next week, a state MP has announced.
But four of the delegates’ LinkedIn accounts indicate they have no business experience, with their profiles instead listing only public-sector roles.
The trip to Geelong sister-city Lianyungang would drive “mutual economic benefits”, said delegate and Labor Member for Geelong Christine Couzens.
Ms Couzens, who previously worked as an electorate officer for 18 years, will be on the delegation with career council manager Brett Luxford, lobbyist and former public servant Rebecca Casson and education director Jackie Taylor.
Food company founder Ben Dingle and investor Nick Stanley are the two delegates with private-sector experience.
Ms Couzens said the group would visit Geelong sister city Lianyungang to identify “new opportunities for collaboration“ between the two regions.
The four-day trip would seek to “enhance“ the work of Victorian State Government’s Regional Cities Alliance overseas travel last year, she said.
“This latest delegation is an appropriate and timely opportunity to continue to build on the positive dialogue of last year’s discussions,” Ms Couzens said.
The delegation would explore opportunities in international education, agribusiness, start-ups, technology, transport and tourism.
The Jiangsu province is home to China’s second largest economy and more than five million residents.
Government and business leaders within the region had expressed a direct interest in furthering talks with Geelong as Victoria’s second largest city, Ms Couzens said.
