Neil Westbury Desert Knowledge Australia Presentation to the 1X All-Russian Forum on Strategic Planning in the Regions and Cities of Russia, St Petersburg October 2010 REINVESTING IN REMOTE AUSTRALIA: CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED FROM remoteFOCUS

FOCUS OF PRESENTATION  The role and work of Desert Knowledge and the remoteFOCUS Project.  The Challenges and Opportunities facing Australia’s remote towns and regions.  Lessons learnt to date and proposals for structural reform.  Two examples of ‘single industry towns’ where some positive results emerging.

Desert Knowledge Precinct on 29 May 2010 Identifies and develops key local and national projects that contribute to a social, economic and environmentally sustainable future for desert Australia

THE GOVERNANCE OF AUSTRALIA

Remote Australia  85% of continent  4.5% of population

Total Australian population 2006 = 20.1 million Remote population = 482,523 Sparse and Mobile Coastal population = 14.1 million Urbanised

High concentration of Indigenous communities Indigenous 24% of Total Remote Population

Indigenous growth rates - Non-Indigenous growth rates – 2006 to 2016

THE MINERALS RESOURCES BOOM  Prolonged boom in export of minerals and energy (especially Iron Ore and Liquefied Gas) driven by demand from China & Japan  Projected to increase by 28.4% from $A132b in to $A170b in  Represents 39% of all Australian exports (agriculture 4.6%, manufacturing 32.5% and services 21.3%)

 Iron Ore and Liquefied Gas mainly sourced from remote Australia  Heavily reliant on FIFO labour  Towns adjacent to major mining deposits lack required infrastructure and services  History of under-investment by governments THE MINERALS RESOURCES BOOM

Population aged 15+4,759 Has no post-school qualification4,200 Has less than Year 10 schooling1,500 Not in the labour force2,190 Hospitalised each year (all persons)2,800 Has diabetes (25 years and over)1,020 Has a disability1,020 Arrested each year1,050 In custody/supervision at any one time 310 Achieves Year 7 literacy (current attendees) 60% 15 year olds surviving to age 65<50%

STRUCTURAL CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES  Untapped potential  Inter-governmental funding arrangements  The governance of governments  Limited institutional investment  Infrastructure backlogs  National security issues  Cultural difference  Local knowledge & skills

 Group of concerned Australians  Committed to improving the way governments govern, administer & engage with remote Australia  Finalising national remoteREFORM package – proposals for change  Testing in Pilbara through remoteFOCUS – Pilbara Project

1. Reforming government resourcing arrangements = How the money flows (place based budgets) 2. Reforming government service arrangements = How services are delivered 3. Reforming governance of governments = How governments work and are structured 4. Reforming community and regional structures and capacities, arrangements = How things work from the bottom up

The Pilbara Project

The Groote Regional Partnership Agreement