Spontaneous Structural Reform in Australian Local Government: the case of the Gilgandra Co-operative Model in New South Wales

Dire financial constraints and the threats of forced structural reform have had the unforeseen effect of forcing municipal councils across Australia to reconsider their operational activities and organisational arrangements. With considerable ingenuity, numerous municipalities have proposed and sometimes adopted new structural formations that embody various forms of co-operative service provision. This remarkable development has unfortunately been largely ignored in the scholarly literature on Australian local government. In a modest effort aimed at remedying this neglect, the present paper seeks to outline the small, rural New South Wales Gilgandra Shire Council's (2004) ‘Co-operative/Local Government Service Company’ model, place it in the broader context of alternative models of local governance suitable for Australian conditions, and evaluate its characteristics.     

Local government perspectives on rural retirement migration and social sustainability

Within the policy and academic literature, the impact of rural retirement migration (RRM) on community sustainability has been questioned. This qualitative study investigated the perceived impact of retirement migration on rural social sustainability from a local government perspective. Focus groups were conducted with local government senior managers and community services staff (n = 39) across six rural local government areas in one Australian state. Data were analysed against the three components of rural social sustainability (equity, community and rurality) proposed by Jones and Tonts [1995. “Rural Restructuring and Social Sustainability: Some Reflections on the Western Australian Wheatbelt.” Australian Geographer 26: 133–140]. While RRM is perceived to benefit rural community capacity to facilitate or maintain equity, community and rurality, it also presents challenges for local government. Participants suggested that capacity to facilitate equity, community and rurality in contexts of RRM was impacted by uncertainty around future impacts of RRM on population ageing, increasing advocacy and expectations of older in-migrants, and the impact of RRM on rural heterogeneity. These issues required local governments to think critically about how to accommodate and manage the needs and expectations of older in-migrants, while mediating potential impacts associated with RRM.     

Cost Shifting in Australian Local Government: an analysis of the spatial impact of pensioner rate concession rebates in New South Wales,Australia

The problem of cost shifting from higher tiers of government to local councils in Australia is widely recognised and has been investigated by several official inquiries. However, it has thus far been difficult to gather reliable estimates of the magnitude of the problem. Quite apart from the taxing definitional and data problems associated with the phenomenon, these difficulties have been compounded by the fact that very few attempts have been made to measure the impact of specific instances of cost shifting in Australian local government, especially its spatial impact. In an attempt to remedy this neglect, this paper seeks to measure the spatial effects of pensioner rate concession rebates on local councils in New South Wales.     

地方政府主导下的资本循环与城市化：以鄂尔多斯康巴什新区为例

以鄂尔多斯市康巴什新区为例,对其发展过程中的资本循环和政府作用进行分析,并提出“地方政府主导下的资本循环”这一研究框架。研究表明,新区的建设包含3个资本循环的过程,分别是煤炭的资本化,土地、基础设施、房地产的资本化,以及向先进制造业和第三产业的资本流动。通过一系列行政手段,地方政府主导了3次循环中的资本积累,以及资本在3次循环之间的转换。     

地方发展与地方形象设计初探

本文从地方形象概念分析入手，探讨了地方发展与地方形象设计的关系，地方发展过程中的形象特征及形象形成途径，提出了地方形象设计的基本思路，包括地方形象设计的原则、形象战略的协调、形象可视化因子的塑造及形象工程建设等。为地方发展的规划与管理提供一条全新的思路。     

转型期中国城市公共服务设施供给模式及其形成机制研究

城市公共服务设施供给模式与社会经济背景紧密相关,改革开放以来,社会经济体制转型促使我国城市公共服务设施供给模式发生变革,其供给主体结构由计划经济时期的单一化政府垄断转向政府公共部门、市场企业组织及社会非营利组织多元参与;在供给主体的制度设计上,供给决策由政治主导转向利益驱动,生产与提供机制由一体化转向垂直分离,垂直层级式管理机制也逐步转型为政府主导下的全方位监督。多元化供给主体及多样化机制组合驱动城市公共服务设施供给模式综合变革,是转型期制度政策因素、市场因素和社会因素共同作用的结果,体现出结构—能动性互动机制。     

Down to Earth: Local government and greenhouse policy in Australia

Global environmental politics and policy are conventionally seen as the province of nation-states and international negotiations. However, there has been increasing attention devoted to the part that local places can play in the pursuit of (global) sustainable development. In this paper, I explore the role of local government in Australian greenhouse policy. A brief outline of the role of local government in environmental management is followed by a short history of greenhouse policy in Australia. From its initial marginal position, local government has begun to occupy a more prominent role in greenhouse policy development and implementation. The paper examines the processes that have led to this change, the development of local greenhouse and energy policies in Newcastle, New South Wales, and the initiation of the 'Cities for Climate Protection' program by the federal government. In conclusion, some thoughts on the problems and prospects of a local approach to the greenhouse issue are offered.     

转型期城市居住用地更新的空间加密化研究——广州市金花街改造再考

选择具有代表性的广州市金花街改造项目（1988~2003年）为案例研究对象,分析了政府主导下改造方案的调整过程和改造空间特征,探讨居民诉求和政府旧改政策对旧城空间的影响。研究表明：金花街居民的原地安置诉求和城市政府依此设计的以民生为导向的改造安排,乃是影响旧城空间的重要原因;在准市场化融资方式和福利化拆迁安置方式下,城市政府提出的有关提供公共服务设施、解决居民临时安置问题和让居民原地安置的要求,使改造规划多次提高改造容积率,以保持改造经济平衡;改造后的金花街在房屋和人口两个维度呈现空间加密化的态势,即存在原地安置房叠加融资商品房、原地安置居民叠加购房迁入居民的社会空间现象,金花街改造并未出现以外来中产人口大规模替代原住低收入人口为基本特征的绅士化过程。最后,从引入转让开发权和鼓励微改造两方面对当前广州的旧城改造提出政策建议。     

RURAL REGIONAL GOVERNANCE IN THE UNITED STATES: THE CASE OF THE RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM*

Rural governance has drawn considerable attention from both local government officials and scholars in the United States since the early 1990s. It is touted as a way to mitigate the limitations of the traditional government unit‐based approaches to problem solving and decision making and to foster partnerships across both jurisdictional boundaries and sectors (public, private, and nonprofit). Established in 1962, the Resource Conservation and Development (rc&d ) program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides a unique model of rural regional governance. Acting as a coalition of governments, private businesses, individuals, and interest groups, the rc&d program provides the flexibility needed to deal with issues at the appropriate spatial scale. It incorporates aspects of both grassroots and governmental organizations and can bring together local interests and expertise with governmental policy and support in service provision, problem solving, and economic development. The approach does not necessarily entail loss of power on the part of the state, but it does provide a mechanism for local people to exercise their agency, to tackle their problems, and to decide which elements of their lives they want to sustain.     

Transition and Diversity in Rural Housing Provision: The case of Narrogin,Western Australia

The purpose of this paper is to examine the changing dynamics of housing markets in an Australian rural community. With reference to the case of Narrogin, Western Australia, it argues that there is an increasing disjuncture between the social and demographic characteristics of rural residents and the modal form of housing in country towns, namely the detached family house. Factors contributing to this disjuncture include the ageing of the population, the loss of traditional blue-collar employment, sub-regional restructuring of service provision, retirement migration patterns, and growing acceptance of the particular housing needs of groups such as the aged, the disabled, young and indigenous people. While it is clear that there is currently something of a mismatch between the characteristics of the population and the housing stock in Narrogin, it is also evident that a combination of political, cultural and economic factors form a significant barrier to adjustment in the local housing market.     

A Critical Evaluation of Structural Reform Considerations in ‘Rates and Taxes: A Fair Share for Responsible Local Government’

In its landmark report entitled Rates and Taxes: A Fair Share for Responsible Local Government, the Commonwealth House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, Finance and Public Administration (2003 Commonwealth House of Representatives Standing Committee On Economics, Finance and Public Administration [‘Hawker Report’] ( 2003 ) Rates and taxes: a fair share for responsible local government , Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra . [Google Scholar]) considered the plight of Australian local government given its very wide terms of reference involving local government's roles and responsibilities, current funding arrangements, municipal capacity, council expenditure, scope for rationalisation, and the findings of the Commonwealth Grants Commission Review (2001 Commonwealth Grants Commission (CGC) ( 2001 ) Review of the Operation of Local Government (Financial Assistance) Act 1995 , Canberra . [Google Scholar]) of the Local Government (Financial Assistance) Act 1995. The authors of the ‘Hawker Report’ brought down 18 recommendations, two of which dealt directly with the thorny question of structural reform. This paper seeks to provide a critical assessment of those aspects of the Report that concern structural reform in Australian local government.     

我国西部开发的政府职责探讨

西部开发进程中,中央和地方政府应该适时根据宏观背景的变化和应该解决的核心目标与任务调整各自的职责。中央政府的职责主要在于加强制度建设,为西部地区经济发展营造一个公平、高效的政策与市场环境;地方政府的职责主要在于提高服务与管理水平。制度法制化、规范的利益协调与分配机制是中央与地方政府正确履行职责的重要保障。     

Between coercion and consent: the politics of “Cooperative Governance” at a time of “Austerity Localism” in London

At a time of “austerity localism”, this paper explores how local authorities in London, England, are simultaneously addressing the dual pressures of delivering fiscal retrenchment and of enrolling citizens in new participatory public service arrangements, asking whether “these trends pull against one another, in opposite directions, or whether they are the tough and tender dimensions of a singular process: austerian management” Drawing on empirical research into the London Borough of Lambeth’s Cooperative Council agenda, as well as Foucauldian and Gramscian critiques of participatory network governance theories and practice, this paper shows how participatory forms of governance can be folded into the logic of hierarchy and coercion through various governmental technologies of performance and agency (consent), and through tactics of administrative domination (coercion). As budget cuts continue to affect local government in England, this paper concludes that although small experiments in participatory governance may persist, the dominant mode of governance is likely to shift towards more hierarchical and coercive forms.     

Fly-in/Fly-out and Fly-over: Mining and regional development in Western Australia

Adoption of fly-in/fly-out (FIFO) or commute work systems in the Western Australian mining industry has increased rapidly over the last decade, with metropolitan Perth becoming the main source of labour and the base for major mining supply and service companies in the state. This situation has led to increasing concern on the part of many regional authorities about the loss of local benefits through 'fly-over' effects, and implications for regional development in their smaller resource-based communities. To date, the state government has paid little attention to these issues, but, at the same time, the regions have done relatively little to help themselves. The paper explores the reasons for the growth of this work system, the nature of the regions' concerns, the measures taken to address them, and options for future action.     

Local‐government data sharing: Evaluating the foundations of spatial data infrastructures

This paper presents a typology of local‐government data sharing arrangements in the US at a time when spatial data infrastructures (SDI) are moving into a second generation. In the first generation, the US National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) theoretically involved a pyramid of data integration resting on local‐government data sharing. Availability of local‐government data is the foundation for all SDI‐related data sharing in this model. However, first‐generation SDI data‐sharing activities and principles have gained only a tenuous hold in local governments. Some formalized data sharing occurs, but only infrequently in response to SDI programmes and policies. Previous research suggests that local‐government data sharing aligns with immediate organizational and practical concerns rather than state or national policies and programmes. We present research findings echoing extending these findings to show that local‐government data sharing is largely informal in nature and is undertaken to support existing governmental activities. NSDI principles remain simply irrelevant for the majority of surveyed local governments. The typology we present distinguishes four distinct types of local‐government data sharing arrangements that reflect institutional, political, and economic factors. The effectiveness of second generation, client‐service‐based SDI will be seriously constrained if the problems of local government take‐up fail to be addressed.     

FARM LABORERS AND THE “NEW URBAN POLITICS”: BRIDGING THE URBAN-RURAL DIVIDE

This paper examines the provision of services to farm labor as an extension of the “new urban politics.” The new urban politics have focused on the position of cities in the emerging global economy and the efforts of elite agents in cities to manipulate that position. The issues involved in service provision, however, blend the scale and economic development questions currently at the center of debate in urban political analyses with questions of identity and of the changing meaning of “urban.” Concern for farm workers on the urban-rural fringe enhances understandings of local politics in three ways. First, it draws attention to the wide array of political agents operating at the local level. Second, the role of scale in creating uneven development within metropolitan areas is highlighted. Third, attention to the politics of service provision for farm labor makes clear the need to re-evaluate urban-rural dichotomies and their role in shaping local politics. Incorporating these issues into theories of local politics makes it possible to examine the ambiguity, political contentiousness, and new spaces for identity formation posed by the changing morphology and meaning of metropolitan areas.     

地方政府竞争对城市土地利用效率影响分析

利用面板随机前沿分析法研究了2009-2015年期间地方政府竞争对中国城市土地利用效率的影响,为规范地方政府的竞争行为并提高中国城市土地利用效率提供政策参考.研究结果表明:地方政府基础设施竞争对中国城市土地技术效率的提高具有促进作用,但效果并不显著,而地方政府财政收支竞争、土地优惠政策竞争及外商直接投资竞争都不利于城市土地利用效率的提高.进一步测算各地区土地利用的技术效率发现,地方政府竞争影响下中国东、中、西部城市土地利用个体技术效率均出现明显下降.因此,应进一步完善城市土地利用中的地方政府竞争关系,改革地方政府官员考核机制,为城市土地集约利用提供良好政策环境.     

Factors Inhibiting Local Government Engagement in Environmental Sustainability: case studies from rural Australia

The literature on local government management of the environment in Australia has been limited in that it has typically focused on the urban sphere. In contrast, this paper places rurality at the centre of its inquiry. It uses data from 15 case studies of rural local governments in Australia to identify the main factors that inhibit natural resource management by rural councils. These barriers mobilise around four key themes: capacity, commitment, co-ordination and community. While many of the issues raised in this study of non-urban shires have been described in previous research, the paper argues that the geographic location of the areas under investigation aggravates barriers to engaging sustainability initiatives. It is contended that rural local governments need to be resourced accordingly to ensure that natural resource management at the local government level in Australia is not compromised.     

从行政分权到跨域治理:我国地方政府治理方式变革研究

从集权到分权再到伙伴关系,从统治到治理再到跨域治理,西方发达国家地方政府治理方式呈现出螺旋式发展路径。我国的分权化改革打破了计划经济体制下地方政府被动羸弱的状态,在激发了地方政府发展经济的动力的同时,引发了"地方政府企业化"倾向,形成了分割的"行政区经济"。市场化改革在引入和整合体制外社会经济资源的同时,也导致政府与市场结合成"不受约束"的增长联盟,反而削弱了政府的权威。跨域治理理念旨在强化政府组织、市场组织和社会组织之间的资源整合,鼓励各种治理组织的参与,以共同应对跨行政区、跨部门、跨领域的公共事务。该文结合我国地方政府的实际情况,认为通过以下途径可以实现地方政府跨域治理:1)分权与赋权相结合,引进并整合体制外的社会经济资源,把决策权力向企业、社区和非营利组织转移;2)统筹协调各治理组织间的关系,促进城市政体内的权力平衡,以利益协调为基点,促使治理规则由支配性规则向共识性规则转变;3)综合运用行政化手段和市场化手段调整地方政府间关系,实现府际合作,促使地方政府由竞争型政府向合作型政府转变。     

Shaping and Sharing Responsibility: Social Memory and Social Learning in the Australian Rural Bushfire Landscape

Responding to increased frequency and severity of bushfires, Australian governments called for “shared responsibility” for bushfire preparation and mitigation. This requires engagement between all sectors of community—government agencies, businesses, not-for-profit, and residents. Fire management agencies remain concerned about whether all communities in fire-prone landscapes are equally equipped to participate in sharing responsibility. A related question is how experience of bushfire influences subsequent community fire management practices. This paper addresses social learning and social memory in a landscape that has experienced repeat bushfires between 2006 and 2013. It examines the relationships between memory, learning and practice among a farming community in western Victoria and government agencies with bushfire management responsibility. Findings suggest that social learning and social memory interact and new practices emerge as the participants embrace “shared responsibility.” However, ambiguities remain about “what” is being shared and what being “responsible” means at different points in preparation and response.