Australian Politics and Policy - Senior, 2019a

Fiona Haslam McKenzie
Key terms/names
‘countrymindedness’, globalisation, Keynesian policy, local government regional
zones and local government areas, neoliberalism, rationalisation and centralisation
policies, regional, Regional Development Australia (RDA) committees, regional
economic development, remote, rural, trade liberalisation, Western Australian
Regional Development Commissions
Australia’s regions are the backbone of the nation’s exports sector. The major
industries of regional Australia – agriculture, forestry, fishing and resources
extraction – accounted for nearly 60 per cent of Australia’s exports in 2017. 1
However, despite its consistent economic contribution to the country’s prosperity,
regional Australia – like regional areas in other First World economies – has
experienced significant social shifts over the last 50 years.
The influence of globalisation, trade liberalisation and the application of neoliberal
policies since the 1980s have accelerated urbanisation, and ageing population
trends are apparent in most, although not all, non-metropolitan regions. Rapid
technological change and capital investment in industry have amplified these trends,
which have both driven and been driven by rationalisation and centralisation of
services and infrastructure. This has consequently compromised liveability in
Haslam McKenzie, Fiona (2019). Regional policy. In Peter J. Chen, Nicholas Barry, John R. Butcher,
David Clune, Ian Cook, Adele Garnier, Yvonne Haigh, Sara C. Motta and Marija Taflaga, eds.
Australian politics and policy: senior edition. Sydney: Sydney University Press. DOI: 10.30722/
sup.9781743326671
1 Reserve Bank of Australia 2018.
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