From Korumburra to Catalonia: Gippsland officials head to Barcelona looking for smart infrastructure ideas
Two local representatives will attend a smart city expo in Spain in early November to learn about agriculture, energy and industrial modernisation.
Jacob Wallace
October 21, 2025
Latrobe City’s mayor and a South Gippsland councillor will travel to Spain in November, investigating new ways to improve agriculture, energy and business in the region.
❓What happened: Latrobe City Council Mayor Dale Harriman, along with South Gippsland councillor and chair of One Gippsland Nathan Hersey, will represent the region at the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona in early November.
The Smart City World Congress seeks to promote international cooperation on sustainable urban and regional development.
What it looks like: There will be over 25,000 attendees from over 130 countries at the event. Visitors can attend talks about a range of topics, engage with international businesses about their products and take part in workshops.
The European Union's International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) formally invited One Gippsland to attend.
Catch up: One Gippsland is a peak body that represents the region and advocates for better economic, social and environmental outcomes for Gippsland.
Its members include all Gippsland councils, Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation, Food & Fibre Gippsland, Federation University, Destination Gippsland and TAFE Gippsland.
🗣️ South Gippsland councillor Bron Beach said the expo is an "opportunity for South Gippsland and [One Gippsland] to obtain international knowledge that can be shared".
✈️ Why is Gippsland attending? Hersey told the Monitor the expo covers a wide range of topics, but Gippsland will primarily be focusing on three areas: agribusiness, clean energy and industrial modernisation.
“We’ll have discussions with other cities and regions from across the world. We’ll listen and share to see if we can figure out how we may be able to work on projects in the future that could be of benefit to Gippsland.”
⚡ Energy shift: Hersey said this is an opportunity for Gippsland to learn about energy diversification “as we move away from coal and into different energy options like batteries, offshore wind and onshore wind as well.”
Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and southwest WA were also invited.
👂Keep an ear out: the Monitor will have more to report from the conference when Heriman and Hersey return.
