Housing beyond the capitals
There has been, in the past, a relative policy neglect of the issues facing non‐metropolitan Australia, although in recent times this neglect has come to be recognised. This paper identifies similarities and differences between metropolitan Australia and the part of Australia lying ‘beyond the capitals’. It uses recalculations of data from the 1991 and 1996 ABS censuses to provide an overview, then uses previously unpublished data to focus on housing related issues. The analysis shows that whilst there are a number of differences between the two areas there are also a number of unexpected similarities. The paper ends with conclusions and recommendations for public policy.
Housing Assistance and Regional Disadvantage: Positioning Paper
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This material was produced with funding from the Commonwealth of Australia and the Australian States and Territories. AHURI gratefully acknowledges the financial and other support it has received from the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments, without which this work would not have been possible. The project team would also like to acknowledge the generosity of all those who have participated in the study and thank them for their time, commitment and encouragement during the course of this research. The team is particularly grateful to the Regional Director of the NSW Department of Housing Northern Region Office, Gavin McCairns, and his staff for their assistance. DISCLAIMER AHURI Ltd is an independent, non-political body which has supported this project as part of its programme of research into housing and urban development, which it hopes will be of value to policy-makers, researchers, industry and communities. The opinions in this publication reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of AHURI Ltd, its Board or its funding organisations or any of those who assisted in the development of this report. No responsibility is accepted by AHURI Ltd or its Board or its funders for the accuracy or omission of any statement, opinion, advice or information in this publication.
The Revolution in International Capital Markets: Urban Growth and Australian Cities
Australia has suffered in line with other nations from the recession of the 1970s. Behind the downturn lay a major structural change in the economies of Western Nations; a change which resulted from the movement from a system of monopoly capitalism to one of global capitalism. Much attention has been paid to the rise of multinational manufacturing corporations in this process; relatively little to the fundamental revision of the world's capital markets. The process of change began with the shortcomings of the Bretton Woods system and the rise of the Eurocurrencies. A vast and undisciplined international capital market was created, the hallmarks of which were highly volatile exchange rates and a greatly expanded pool of capital which was very mobile. The power of individual governments to control the system was reduced, and the new system was organized through a group of key global cities which operated the market throughout the world on a twenty-four-hour basis. A fourfold hierarchy of centres evolved. In Australia there was an historic transition from the dominance of Melbourne to that of Sydney as a result of the changing world scene. The growth of the international markets has produced a revolution in the distribution of wealth and activities throughout the world. The problems resulting from this have called for a regulatory body to control the new system. The prospects for creating such a body are clouded by the scale of the problem and by the lack of understanding of its causes. The result is an indecisive and probably wrongly directed approach to the question of regional development.