Abstract:
This paper reviews the regional policies of the Commonwealth
Government's 1994 Working Nation White Paper and assesses its
subsequent impact on this policy area. It outlines the recessionary macroeconomic
context which allowed the emergence of Working Nation, and
considers the innovation and feasibility of those policies. The paper then
examines the main currents of regional policy at national and state levels
since Working Nation, identifying principal dimensions including: an
emphasis on network-based, community-led development, industry clusters
as the main initiator of growth, and the influence of environmental
concerns in generating selective regional responses from governments.
However an increasing emphasis on major cities as a source of global
competitive advantage has seen the states focus discretionary development
resources on the capital cities, whilst accompanying re-regulation of
industrial relations has widened the metropolitan/non-metropolitan wages
gap. The paper concludes that reinvigorating regional policy needs a
balanced and more supportive approach from all governments in place of
the present minimalist and individualist approach.
