Place-based concepts for developing policy and investing in places are being implemented or proposed across a range of sectors. However, very few of these initiatives (if any) are taking place in the remote Outback communities of Australia. Place-based approaches are particularly important to Outback Australia because the social, economic, cultural, and environmental conditions faced by…

Continue Reading

Maintaining the exceptional environment of the Outback is intertwined with maintaining socially and economically healthy Outback communities. Many of its nongovernment economic sectors – tourism, pastoralism, carbon farming and fisheries – depend on a healthy and attractive environment. In turn, maintenance of the Outback’s superlative landscapes requires active land management to control wildfires and eradicate…

Continue Reading

Land-based livelihoods in the Outback include pastoralism, tourism and mining, including Indigenous enterprises, as well as supporting activities such as natural resource management services, and also smaller land-based activities such as local horticulture, aquaculture, bush food production, etc.  Together they contribute significantly to the national economy, and manage an enormous area of Australia on behalf…

Continue Reading

In well-populated areas, efficiencies are commonly gained through economies of scale. In Sydney, for example, the same waste collection trucks may be able to collect from twice as many customers by driving a kilometer further into the next suburb, thus making collections per house cheaper. This creates economies of scale. But to double the number…

Continue Reading