Australian Politics and Policy - Senior, 2019a

Regional policy
the chagrin of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) whose electorate was traditionally
urban-based. 17
In 1972, the Whitlam Labor government established the Department of Urban
and Regional Development (DURD) and, once again, the Commonwealth overtly
engaged in regional development policy. DURD’s initiatives were based on specific
policies aimed at improving co-ordination between the Commonwealth, states and
local government. DURD formalised planning regions and developed a population
distribution plan identifying growth centres. 18 However, the Commonwealth’s
regional policy focus was short lived. The Fraser government’s election in 1975
ended the federal regional development policy foray, leaving it to the states to
look after regional matters until the 1990s. Since then, the importance of regional
policy at the Commonwealth level has waxed and waned. As noted by Eversole, ‘the
imperative to act in favour of Australian regions ebbs and flows with the political
climate, creating a fragmented landscape of regional policy initiatives’. 19 Politics,
therefore, has considerable influence over what policies are implemented and where
they are applied.
The late 20th century and neoliberalism
Until the late 1970s, Australia’s regional policy was framed by a commitment to
equity, which supported communities throughout rural, regional and remote
Australia but did not necessarily elicit efficient industries. The 1980s saw significant
restructuring of policies and entire industry sectors after the election of the Hawke
Labor government in 1983. Australia began to engage with global conditions and
the international marketplace, and the broad government policy was reoriented to
efficiency and market forces, which underpin neoliberal principles. The hallmarks
of neoliberal policy principles are privatisation and state deregulation, increased
reliance on market forces, rather than government intervention, to drive change,
and devolution of responsibilities and functions from governments to the private
and community sectors. Government, therefore, began to withdraw from its traditional
role as a source of infrastructure investment and provider of services.
The shift to neoliberal principles was not limited to regional Australia, but its
impacts were deeply felt in rural, regional and remote communities. The viability
of regional communities came under scrutiny and government services and
infrastructure expenditure began to be rationalised and/or centralised, shaped by
user-pays and self-help ideals. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, rural, regional
and remote communities experienced reduced service delivery and infrastructure
investment, as government responded to market demands rather than equity
considerations. Communities were increasingly expected to more self-reliant. At a
17 van Staden and Haslam McKenzie 2019a.
18 Tonts and Haslam McKenzie 2005.
19 Eversole 2016, 5.
675