Bridging the Gap: Emma Broomfield on Empowering Regional Voices in Local Government
For our first episode of the #SIITR24 Speaker Special we sat down with Emma Broomfield, founder of Locale Learning and a pioneering force in political leadership development. As a recovering lawyer turned conflict and engagement specialist, Emma shared valuable insights about the challenges and opportunities in regional governance.
Three Key Themes Emerged from Our Conversation:
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The Knowledge-Action Gap Emma highlighted a critical disconnect between community passion and system navigation. While many passionate community members step into local government roles, they often struggle with the complexities of creating change within the system. It’s not about a lack of good intentions – it’s about understanding how to be effective within existing structures.
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The Power of Bottom-Up Change One of Emma’s most compelling insights was about the need to flip traditional governance models. “We see a lot of top-down change,” she noted, explaining how this approach often leads to community disempowerment. Instead, she advocates for grassroots-driven initiatives that give communities genuine agency in decision-making processes.
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The Connection Crisis Perhaps most notably, Emma shared a striking observation from her recent work: across nearly every community she encounters, the number one desire is for greater connection. This isn’t just a regional issue – it’s appearing in cities too. While we’re more digitally connected than ever, there’s a growing hunger for meaningful, local relationships that can drive sustainable community change.
Success Story: The Nimbin Model Emma shared an inspiring example from the Nimbin and Channon communities, where a truly community-led disaster preparedness plan proved its worth during subsequent flooding events. The key to success? Community ownership. Rather than council holding the reins, the community took responsibility for both the plan and its implementation.
Looking Ahead As we move toward 2027, Emma’s focus is on developing what she calls “civic leadership incubators” – spaces where emerging community leaders can build their capacity to create change, whether they ultimately become councillors or not.
Listen to Season 1 – Episode 1 with Emma Broomfield on Spotify
