Australian Politics and Policy - Senior, 2019a

Australian Politics and Policy
• 85 biogeographic regions, identified co-operatively by federal and state
government scientists
• 69 statistical divisions, based on agreed definitions of a ‘region’ and identified
co-operatively by federal and state statisticians and used by the ABS
• 64 regions identified by the formation of voluntary Regional Organisations of
Councils (ROCs), which are groupings of approximately 560 local governments
• 57 regions of the federal–state natural resource management regional bodies
administering the Natural Heritage Trust and National Action Plan on Water
Quality and Salinity
• 54 regions of the nation’s RDA committees (formally ‘Area Consultative
Committees’).
Regions can also be functional economic areas with specialisations and competitive
advantage, meaning that they have physical or resource attributes that give them
advantages over competitors. Another type of functional region is defined by
natural resources, such as a water catchment or natural endowments. However,
even though rural and regional Australia can be defined in many ways, in broad
policyterms,regionalAustraliaisassumedtobeallthetowns,citiesandcommunities
outside Australia’s six largest capital cities. 6
Regional policy: what is it?
Collits explains that regional policy ‘typically responds to regional disparities and
often focuses on economic development, jobs and investment’. 7 This focus is not
particular to Australia. In most international jurisdictions, regional policy is viewed
as economic policy with the objective of setting policy levers to avoid regional
disparities and uneven development. 8 In its Europe 2020 Strategy, 9 the European
Commission states that regional policy is an investment policy, supporting and
promoting job creation, competitiveness, economic growth, improved quality of life
and sustainable development. In Australia, in addition to its strong economic focus,
regional policy also seeks to address liveability and ensure comparable services for
those living outside the large cities.
In the current Australian context, neoliberal policy settings encourage capacity
building and economic growth through harnessing regional attributes, rather than
through external investment and government-led initiatives. Where there is
recognised regional disadvantage, it is expected that regional policy has the
potential to be a strategic intervention, rather than directly investing in initiatives.
6 Productivity Commission 2017.
7 Collits 2012, 206.
8 Harrison 2006.
9 European Commission 2010.
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