Fair Call Simon.

Whilst you dont get the best 'bang for your buck' with regional development and infrastructures, at least it allows development within non capital environments and makes it viable for many people to make the change and provide some longevity to many a struggling region.

If we can do this and grow our interior cities and towns, such as Inverell in northern NSW where water supplies are almost indefinate and power supplies are underutilised, we can enter an era of prosperity that will facilitate growth in both infrastructure and populations where we need it most.

If all these things where in the country areas, especially broadband (allowing for a myriad of employment and self empoyment options) maybe the exodus of young from these towns will reduce, along with attracting others who find lifestyle and opportunites.

At least there is a commitment from you guys, it seems that the Liberals and Nationals hve got complacent with this issue.

Well said Simon,however if Howard gets his way he will control a large chunk of Eastern inland Australia through his so called water initiative for the Murray/Darling Basin.
Under the guise of protecting waterways feeding into the MDB Howard would have the capacity to control all activities being undertaken or planned for that area.He would have the capacity to over ride local and state governments.
He thinks he has gained the political initiative with his $10b over 10 years.This is a nonsense of a proposal.It was announced without any comprehensive prior studies.Surely the science and the studies should be done first,priorities established and funding sought against this background.
Howard has come up with an ammount conjured from thin air( it sounds a lot )and asks ( demands ) that all programs must fit within that ammount of money.
Howard proposes spending $55b on defence over this same period without identifying who our enemies are other than that will 'o the whisp international terrorism.
The Australian public have already indicated that they believe the environment,including water,is more important than Howards war on terror.
In my opinion $10b over 10 years is nowhere near enough to address the problems of the Basin.
The government has been prepared to consider throwing away $1b on the failed Sea Sprite helicopter.
The MDB proposal cuts no ice in WA,Tas., or NT. In my opinionion Aust. needs a National Water Authority to manage and research the issue of water throughout the country.
For reasons above there needs to be an independent authority to manage the MDB.
Howards inclination is to support the big irrigators,he needs to be exposed on this and stopped from doing so.
Bruce Haigh
Mudgee

the common theme of chatterati discussion in australia is the use of the passive voice. x needs to be done. or that old standby: " the gummint should do something ".

this is natural. in a democracy, the citizens would discuss, agree, initiate a referendum, and do something. in a political squattocracy like oz, the sheep can "baa" all they like, but they can do nothing.

in the end, discussion here is mere gossip.

nowadays the gossip is about the young massa, who will fix all the ills the old massa somehow never got around to.

What about education Simon! it is the cornerstone of all regional development, and I don't just mean education for rural trades and industry. Lets give those kids a fair go!

You say the solution should be a local one, so lets look at rural schools as different entities than city schools. Have you considered the issues raised by Phil Roberts last week? http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=5755

Actually DEMOS one would hope that the contributor of an article here would read some of the comments. This means that what gets said here DOES matter. Whilst we dont have a direct vote in the issues ourselves, we can certainly lobby our local members - that's what they are there for. Most people see this as just being too hard. However, I've done so on a few occasions and generally been pleased with the results. Yes, its a lot of effort - most pollies are quite busy people (worse when your member is deputy PM), but if you feel strongly enough about something then its worth the effort.

Bruce,
"Under the guise of protecting waterways feeding into the MDB Howard would have the capacity to control all activities being undertaken or planned for that area"

Isn't that exactly what needs to happen? Until now the states have suited themselves in relation to water and interstate rivalries have done nothing for the MDB. Under national control priorities can be assessed without considerations of a parochial nature.

I was under the impression the $10b plan encompassed all states and territories. The MDB being the largest and facing the largest problems obviously will take most of that money.

As a small irrigator I trust Mr Howard will look after me too, not just the big ones.

It all sounds fine, Simon, but it is nothing but posturing and window dressing until we have regional governments with full state powers, independent of the existing metropolitan capitals.

Only then can we be certain that each region will get it's fair share of the GST cake to spend on its own priorities. Only then will the regions be free of this debilitating "one size fits all" approach that is thrust upon us by the metrocentrics.

So spare us all the posturing and give us a firm undertaking to return the right to self determination that was extorted from us by the Queensland (Brisbane) delegates at Federation.

Prior to this disgraceful scam, every part of the then British Empire had the right to petition the crown for self government, in the "interests of peace, order and good governance", to override any selfish objections by existing state governments. It is this mechanism that enabled Victoria, South Australia and Queensland to obtain self governance despite the vehement opposition of New South Wales.

But under threat of constitutional blackmail, the Brisbane elites succeeded in making the formation of new states subject to the consent of the existing state. And because of this, none of the numerous new states that all our founders anticipated, and structured the constitution accordingly, have eventuated.

Only 50 years later Australia ratified the UN Declaration of Human Rights which, again, made it absolutely clear that the right to self determination was the sole prerogative of the community themselves, not subject to any sort of veto by existing dominant interests.

The existing states veto over new state formation is nothing more than a sleazy back room abomination of democracy. And if you really want to empower the regions, and get some real decentralisation to take the pressure off the existing cities, then you should scrap the states veto over new state formation and allow the Commonwealth to intervene "for the peace, order and good governance" of all Australians.

The alternative is bigger, uglier and less livable cities and pauperised, unsustainable regions.

Simon,
Such a plan is long overdue and I commend your thoughts on the issue. I wonder if in hindsight that had regional development been addressed our cities would not be under the same pressures.

Shortage of water may in itself encourage industry to move from the major cities, though some guidance wouldn't hurt.
Houses and land are much more affordable in the country, we just need the job prospects to make regional life attractive.
In NSW many of the income streams(logging for instance) for rural towns have been stymied as a result of govt seeking the green vote in Metropolitan areas. More National Parks do little for local economies.
Not only have the bright lights attracted our young, city based decision making has curbed prospects for those that could have otherwise stayed

Rojo, you say that the Murray Darling Basin needs an independent authority to manage it. What does the Murray Darling Basin Commission do now?

Yes we must plan to develop non-coastal regional Australia because if we just leave it to the markets to determine then the rural urban drift will just continue with rural communities becoming too small to be viable. Small country towns like Bright are touted as great retirement destinations but as the retiree reaches 75 they learn through painful experience that there is no health infrastructure to support the frail elderly and the dying are transported down to Melbourne to die. There are only 8 Victorian locations capable of looking after the frail elderly. So that's another source of employment, personal care assistant, lost to women in small towns. The same problem is repeated in the retirement communities on the NSW coast.

Many Victorians look at Malcolm Turnbull's experience in helping the big end of town and worry that if he controls the waters of the MDB then all small irrigators will lose their water allocations to the cashed up big city conglomerates like Timbercorp or John Elliott's Waterwheel. I'm sure the Griffith rice growers don't want to have to run Waterwheel out of town again.

Good article Simon, lets hope it actually happens.

Do you trust the former general counsel to the Packer empire (Turnbull)to look after small irrigators? I don't. Watch your water rights disappear.

Whitlam was the last PM who really tried to help regional Australia, moving Govt departments to Wagga, Albury etc. Why not get federal govt employees to telecommute from Rockhampton, Bright, Longreach, or Shepparton?

I am sure there would be plenty of workers willing to move from Canberra.

Genuine commitment has been the problem of administrations working at regional levels.

There needs to be a greater improvement '... to localism (and particularisms) to enable governments to respond with (more depth and) flexibility to local concerns and to provide a mechanism to ensure governments and departments work together.

This is the core problem in Cooktown and Cape York. Regional staff reproduce the concern of a selected few. The agitators and advocates such as myself are badly bullied by a specific dysfunctional culture and nullified - excluded by the mainstream because their status and self interests come before sustaining issues in social policy, community engagement and the increasing disadvantage indices.

Deal with the "invisibles". Cooktown and the Aboriginal Communities suffer badly in the ways budgets are allocated. Because we as constituants have a limited community voice... poor awareness of self-advocacy ... apathy and a lack of hope is dire at ground levels.

We require a well researched : ".spatial approach" delivered through federal and state budgets

Greater continuity of all funds to SHARE service delivery - not just regiona-one-off-programs!

As a (mini) NGO I have given up applying for budgets because we have no platform (local) to rest funding-rounds on. I spend about $400-1200 on any application and have had NO FOLLOW_UP or FEEDBACK to develop these ideas given the competition of other regions?.

COMMUNITY-Bottom-UP-PLANNING is central to HEALTHY COMMUNITIES.

Council is burdened with external paperwork and this dis-stress breeds more stress at the cost of civic engagement. Essential services work in a world of their own. There is NO LOCAL AGENDA on these terms.

YES-> 'It has been proven that resources are used more effectively when all levels of government AND THE COMMUNITY work together', rather than the endless (POLITICAL) blame game. We NEED a funding model-framework to drive co-ordination of Federal programs and look holistically at a region’s needs."

OH IF ONLY WE COULD DO THIS "look holistically at a region’s needs." through REAL LOCAL PLANNING inititives. We need LOCAL continuity.

We are trapped by the current Federal and State stand-off over BASIC COMMUNITY NEEDS.

http://miacat.com
.

Take Two: Local and Regional Planning

The ID Boom Approach is a "Knowledge Share and Exchange" strategy. see model link below;

http://www.miacat.com/Media_Pan_One/CreativeEssentials/mia_Shire_letters/Candoo_NGO_Events_Letter.htm

As an NGO I advocate the need to build capacity at a local level. I developed the ID BOOM as I ran for "Dummy Mayor" The dummy part is a 'synonym' from Lawson's poem about o'l man Spicer (Dummy Land Selectors hired by Rich Land owners for illegal Land Parcels) - and the need to "Water them Geraniums" - "Attend to the Local Agenda".

Affordable Housing and Land are key issues in Cooktown.

http://www.miacat.com/Media_Pan_One/ElectionArchives/MiaCamPOST/CamMayorHP.htm

My point is in Cooktown we work above the Boom (Horizon) and below the Boom at CRISIS (Drag-Net). There is little or no economic capacity building (The Catch). This model is a budget. Replace each label with a question mark. It is a community research project... LETS ID OURSELVES for OURSELVES... this concept needs more formal support.

PROBLEM: No space to problem solve, engage constructive social capital at civilian levels.

Key obstacles include the way powers operate.

There is a major separation between political, administrative and financial targets, which are required for long-term accountability, and transparency. Management developing bodies tend to jump the gun. They all have conflicting agenda’s. They are impatient and negate the true economic development potential that might otherwise tend authentic training and engaging ground support to our multi-talented constituents.

At base levels this is about building community infrastructure.

And it is about networking with human economic capital. Building our Human Capacity and Our Health by improving our inter-relationships.

We ought to consider deeply our Community Business.

Community Business is Civic Business and must become primary economic business at a local level.

This I say is the fact ignored in all areas of governance, in all areas of self-management and self -governance.

Ie: Social Drift is an environmental issue as well as social, economic and cultural issue. It is blocked as a political will to act on community business.

Community Infrastructure and enouraging better governance nation wide is therefore a key in ‘health care’ and we all have this knowledge.
.

It sounds to me like you are suggesting that we strengthen the regions by a central government.

How about empowering the regions by giving back powers from both the federal and state?

The day the ALP or Liberal stops trying to centralize solutions I would be more inclined to vote for them.

dickie,
"What does the Murray Darling Basin Commission do now?" Good question. From what I can see, not much. It seems to be little more than an auditing body with an advisory role to govt. It has liitle direct power over the states and merely provides management/advice.

Small irrigators should have nothing more to fear from reform than big irrigators. Entitlements are like shares in the system, any change will affect each propotionally. The only difference is that small irrigation enterprises may not be viable and end up being consolidated into larger holdings.

Simon I agree that regional social and economic issues need to be addressed across Australia. But who represents such "regions"? The fact is we are stuck with a colonial 3 tier system of government, local state & federal, none of which has regional economic issues as its focus/responsibility.

This ensures incredible inefficiencies for a nation with such a small population - for example sextuplication of water, road, police, transport, emergency, motor registration and many other authorities - not to mention the 3 levels of government. The unmeasured cost of adminsistrative and bureacratic duplication must be staggering.

I believe that until regional governments replace both existing state and local governments Australia will not truly become globally competitive

It is interesting to speculate on what an independent state of North Queensland would look like. For a start, it would have twice the population of the ACT and three times that of the Northern Territory.

Unlike the ACT and NT, North Qld would have an existing economic momentum that is not dependent on the government drip.

If it had a parliament of only 30 MP's then each electorate would still be half the size of the existing Qld ones. And these electorates would be more consistent with regional communities of interest. There would be two or three MP's from the ATSI community, elected on their merits in their own right. We may even see Noel Pearson take his place as a state premier at the COAG table.

And in any event, the new NQ State government would liase with the current five federal members as to how the full regional share of the GST cake would be spent on their own priorities.

The days when the residents of Cairns, Atherton, Townsville and Proserpine are compelled to be reluctant shareholders of the Tugun Bypass, the second Gateway Bridge, and this months grandiose urban monument to Beattie's ego, will be over.

GYM-FISH, this message below is from an interested party who contacted me, and asked me to paste this view, from Canada.

That junk food is bought because $207.00 (Canadian-the most possible) for a month can NOT buy the fruit and vegies unless we go without such foodstuffs for days.

Secondarily - How dare anyone blame tobacco.

Obviously when there is insufficient for both food and shelter discounting the toilet paper, transportation and hygienic cleaners - then people will take out their distressing duress against themselves - i.e. feel the choke physically (tobacco), as well as intellectually, emotionally, and spirituality--not to mention that a malnourished diet involving toxic processed foods spanning one meal/day and always otherwise hungry (regardless of age and health and work/educational/training potential to alter one's status) generates a laissez-faire attitude about one's health and everything else about oneself and one's community.

Over and above this - pension day - has nothing to do with welfare, which functions on a mandatory employment, totalitarian regimen (ss). You're confused with disability funding.

On welfare the punishment for lack of compliance/submission to self-harm is curtailment of subsidy. Why do you prefer to believe that lack of compliance is the victim's criminality, rather than dissent against the criminally enfeebled administering a brutal system?

Your statement is the product of ingrained, bigoted, government-sponsored propaganda inciting irrational callous indifference, fear, hate and denial against one group, which will expand to include your group tomorrow.

What goes around comes around - You're next!

It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.

”Upton Sinclair http://www.veoh.com/channels/selfdetermination
.

Opps above is a Wrong Post.

See " When poverty means not having enough to eat " By Sally Babbington, Sue King and Christine Ratnasingham, - 30/4/2007

The debate about poverty definitions and measurement needs to be grounded in the actual experiences of people who are going without.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=5794#79259

A MUST READ - Is a Top quality Article.
.