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
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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.
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