In Australia, regions are not just geographic locations, they are also cultural ideas. Being regional means being located outside the nation’s capital cities and in the periphery of its centres of power and influence. Regional development in Australia is thus significantly different than its European or American counterparts. However, surprisingly little has been written about the unique dynamics of development in Australia's regions; this book has been written to fill this gap. In recent decades the Australian government has made repeated policy efforts to achieve sustainable development in its non-metropolitan areas. Over the same period, those who live and work outside the nation’s capital cities have come to identify as regional Australians. This book takes an anthropological approach to understanding the particularities of regional development in Australia. It draws upon rich, on-the-ground observations of towns, industries, universities, development organisations, and communities across different settings to provide an in-depth understanding of the subject. This book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners concerned with regional development and policy.

Contemporary Issues in Australian Urban and Regional Planning looks at a wide range of planning issues in Australia from the city to the regional scale, covering key topics in sustainable development and planning including economic, social, environmental and governance perspectives. It also covers issues of climate change, population and urbanization trends, economic competitiveness and the Quadruple Bottom Line (QBL) Sustainability agenda. The book is organized around three key elements: Pressures and Principles of development and planning for sustainability Planning Practice and Processes focused on essential topics including cities, regions, rural areas, and social and environmental issues and Future Processes and Prospects for planning practice and education covering the fundamental issues of assessing sustainability, managing risk, effective participation and evolving approaches to planning education. Contemporary Issues in Australian Urban and Regional Planning is an invaluable resource for students and practitioners of planning and related fields and provides a critical perspective on current issues in evolving natural and socio-economic contexts in Australian planning.

Throughout the world, the number of festivals has grown exponentially in the last two decades, as people celebrate local and regional cultures, but perhaps more importantly as local councils and other groups seek to use festivals both to promote tourism and to stimulate rural development. However, most studies of festivals have tended to focus almost exclusively on the cultural and symbolic aspects, or on narrow modelling of economic multiplier impacts, rather than examining their long-term implications for rural change. This book therefore has an original focus. It is structured in two parts: the first discusses broad issues affecting music festivals globally, especially in the context of rural revitalisation. The second part looks in more detail at a range of types of festivals commonly found throughout North America, Europe and Australasia, such as country music, jazz, opera and alternative music festivals. The authors draw on in-depth research undertaken over the past five years in a range of Australian places, which traces the overall growth of festivals of various kinds, examines four of the more important and distinctive music festivals, and makes clear conclusions on their significance for rural and regional change.

Indigenous Australians play an important role in the development of regional economies. Compared to the non-Indigenous population, Indigenous peoples are more likely to be located in predominantly rural regions. However, significant gaps in socio-economic outcomes with non-Indigenous Australians remain and these gaps are larger in rural regions. The report provides three key recommendations to improve economic outcomes for Indigenous Australians.

The completely reedited second edition of this book reflects recent advances and adds insightful new material. The book analyzes regional economic performance and change, and discusses how analysis integrates with strategies for local and regional economic development policy and planning. The aim is to provide the reader with an account of quantitative and qualitative approaches to regional economic analysis, and of old and new strategic frameworks for formulating regional economic development planning.

This publication explores a range of helpful policy measures and institutional reforms to mobilise higher education for the development of the State of Victoria.

Where is planning in twenty-first-century Australia? What are the key challenges that confront planning? What does planning scholarship reveal about the state of planning practice in meeting the needs of urban and regional Australians? The Routledge Handbook of Australian Urban and Regional Planning includes 27 chapters that answer these and many other questions that confront planners working in urban and regional areas in twenty-first-century Australia. It provides a single source for cutting edge thinking and research across a broad range of the most important topics in urban and regional planning. Divided into six parts, this handbook explores: contexts of urban and regional planning in Australia critical debates in Australian planning planning policy climate change, disaster risk and environmental management engaging and taking planning action planning education and research This handbook is a valuable resource for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students in urban planning, built environment, urban studies and public policy as well as academics and practitioners across Australia and internationally.

Key Features: Provides clear and authoritative recommendations for managing fire in ecological and social contexts Authors are all international leaders in their fields and include not only academics but also leaders of Indigenous communities Explains Indigenous cultural and knowledge systems to a degree that has rarely been accessible to lay and academic readers outside specialized disciplines like Anthropology Responds to growing need for new approaches to managing human-ecological systems that are in greater sympathy with Australia’s natural environments/climate, and value the knowledge of Indigenous people Timely for scholarly and interest groups intervention, as the Australian government is again looking to ‘develop the north' Sustainable Land Sector Development in Northern Australia sets out a vision for developing North Australia based on a culturally appropriate and ecologically sustainable land sector economy. This vision supports both Indigenous cultural responsibilities and aspirations, as well as enhancing enterprise opportunities for society as a whole. In the past, well-meaning if often misguided policy agendas have failed - and continue to fail - North Australians. This book helps breach that gap by acknowledging and harnessing Indigenous cultural strengths and knowledge systems for looking after the country and its people, as part of a smart, novel and diversified ecosystem services economy.

This book offers a general introduction to and analysis of the history, theory and public policy of Australian local government systems. Conceived in an international comparative context and primarily from within the discipline of political studies, it also incorporates elements of economics and public administration. Existing research tends to conceptualise Australian local government as an element of public policy grounded in an 'administrative science' approach. A feature of this approach is that generally normative considerations form only a latent element of the discussions, which is invariably anchored in debates about institutional design rather than the normative defensibility of local government. The book addresses this point by providing an account of the terrain of theoretical debate alongside salient themes in public policy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced countries around the globe into lockdown, imposing trade and travel restrictions with devastating economic impacts on all sectors of the economy. In working toward greater economic stability, Australia has been strengthening its trade relations with other countries, which is reflected through its increased strategic relations with India. However, it is now essential to explore how Australia is working to further expand its collaboration with other South Asian countries and find new markets and opportunities for trade, investment, tourism, international education, and business dealings for its resources, services, manufacturing, and technology sectors. Strategic Cooperation and Partnerships Between Australia and South Asia: Economic Development, Trade, and Investment Opportunities Post COVID-19 provides an overview of the Australian trade and investment relationship with South Asian countries and identifies the trends and developments of bilateral trade agreements in strategic areas of trade, tourism, investment, education, prior and post COVID-19. Covering topics such as international trade, climate change policy, and macroeconomics, it is ideal for policymakers, practitioners, industry professionals, government officials, academicians, researchers, instructors, and students.