Introduction
1.1
The Australian Greens would like to thank all who submitted to this
inquiry and who attended public hearings. We sincerely appreciate your interest
and passion in this issue, and the commitment of time and effort to help inform
the committee of the myriad of issues facing regional capitals and the
complexity of responses that governments at all levels need to consider.
1.2
The Australian Greens would also like to acknowledge the committee’s
work on this inquiry. The Chair’s report provides a valuable precis of regional
capitals and provides a clear framework to develop policy responses. The Greens
support the recommendations contained in the Chair’s report.
Decentralisation
1.3
As articulated in the committee report, post-war settlement patterns in
Australia mimic those in much of the developed world, being a shift from
smaller agrarian townships to larger urban centres. This has seen population
grow in regional capitals, but not nearly to the same extent as population has
grown in capital cities.
1.4
As a result—and despite perceptions to the contrary—Australia is one of
the most heavily urbanised countries in the developed world, and has one of the
highest concentrations of population in large capital cities in the world.
1.5
There is a sporadic history of government actively encouraging
decentralisation of the population, particularly by locating government departs
in regional capitals. Examples of Commonwealth agencies being deliberately
housed in regional capitals include the location of the ASIC Registry in
Traralgon, the ATO in Albury, and, more recently, the NDIS in Geelong. The
location CSIRO in Hobart, Australia’s smallest capital city, is a similar
example and one that has been highly successful.
1.6
However, the Australian Greens acknowledge that the efficacy of active
decentralisation policy has been mixed, and that it can be difficult to balance
the national interest with local interest. For example, the recent decision to
locate the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority in regional
NSW would appear to be more ‘pork’ than good public policy.
1.7
The Australian Greens believe there is a pressing need for active
decentralisation policy to be considered in much greater detail than this
inquiry has had the resources to do. We need to build the evidence on how to do
decentralisation properly. These are decisions which have a generational
timespan. It is incumbent on government to develop an informed view on
settlement patterns and how it should respond so as to best secure the very
long term prosperity of regional Australia.
Recommendation
1.8
The Australian Greens recommend that the government request the
Productivity Commission to undertake an inquiry into the success of previous
decentralisation policies in Australia and the potential for future active
decentralisation policy in Australia, particularly in light of the strains on
settlement patterns in capital cities.
Senator Peter Whish-Wilson
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