Table of Contents
Economic development remains an aspiration of governments across Australia at the national, state and local levels. Both communities and governments seek growth with respect to their population, gross regional product, average income and the quality and quantity of their infrastructure. The impetus for economic development has, in large measure, dominated Australian politics and society over the last two decades, contributing to the reform of labour markets, the amalgamation and restructuring of local governments, changes to education and higher education, shifts within the public sector and a recasting of immigration. Central governments have been a major catalyst for economic growth, with the federal government in particular pushing for change in order to lift gross national product. Initiatives such as the National Competition Policy and WorkChoices legislation have sought to achieve microeconomic reform as a mechanism for delivering a more competitive position within the global economy. State and territory governments have also awarded priority to policies intended to achieve economic growth. Across the jurisdictions, there has been an emphasis on achieving ‘AAA’ credit ratings (Spoehr 2005) as a way of demonstrating business credentials and in some instances governments have implemented innovation strategies – such as Queensland’s ‘Smart State’ program – as a way of enhancing their long term competitiveness.
While economic development has been an important driver of policy, the programs and actions of government have largely ignored regional impacts. The focus on the national economy or the state economy per se has given scant attention to the distribution of growth opportunities at the regional or local level. This has meant that the gap between prosperous regions and those that struggle has widened (Baum et al 2005), and that insufficient attention has been paid to the development of an adequate infrastructure for economic development at the local or regional scale (Beer et al 2003).
This chapter considers the current state of regional economic development in Australia, drawing attention to significant shortcomings in current structures. The chapter then draws upon the example of the responses of government to the loss of employment in the automotive industry in Adelaide during 2004, to illustrate the adverse impact of policy responses developed and implemented at an inappropriate scale. Finally, the chapter outlines some ideas on how a far stronger system for local or regional economic development could be implemented, and the benefits of such a system for both vulnerable communities and the national economy.