TY - JOUR
T1 - Rural Local Governance and Housing
T2 - Local Government as Facilitator
AU - Martin, John
AU - Beer, Andrew
AU - Morris, Alan
AU - Paris, Chris
AU - Budge, Trevor
N1 - Funding Information:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The Australian Research Council (LP150100160) funded this research project. The authors would like to thank the two anonymous referees for their helpful comments and suggestions.
Funding Information:
We undertook field work in the Gwydir Shire in New South Wales mid 2018. At the announcement of the Australian Research Council funded research project (on which this paper is based), the General Manager of the Gwydir Shire contacted the research team asking to be a part of the research. The General Manager had worked in urban and rural councils over his career and, when appointed to his position with Gwydir, became aware that this community had a long tradition of facilitating local affordable housing. He was interested in exploring with the research team why this was the case and what the ongoing implications for the shire were.
Funding Information:
The lead author visited the Gwydir Shire in August 2018 interviewing Council elected members, staff and people associated with a range of housing initiatives across the shire. He subsequently conducted an email survey and follow-up phone calls with all rural councils in the surrounding region. Ethics approval for this research was granted by the University of South Australia, the lead institution for this ARC funded research.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 the Australia and New Zealand Regional Science Association International Inc. (ANZRSAI). All rights reserved.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Housing affordability is an issue that affects all Australians, including those living in rural communities. Local governments in rural Australia are the most visible level of government for communities, and they are best placed to see first-hand the social and economic pressures that are impacting their communities. In this research, we consider the changing role of non-metropolitan local governments with respect to housing, and what it tells us about the state of Australia’s federal system. We examine the findings of a national survey of local government before exploring the challenges of rural local governance and access to affordable housing. We then show how one rural council facilitates a range of activities to address housing challenges, and then compare its actions with those of its neighbours. Overall, we find it is not common for rural local governments to take a proactive approach to affordable housing, and we discuss the ways in which rural councils can take a leadership role in addressing local issues of housing affordability.
AB - Housing affordability is an issue that affects all Australians, including those living in rural communities. Local governments in rural Australia are the most visible level of government for communities, and they are best placed to see first-hand the social and economic pressures that are impacting their communities. In this research, we consider the changing role of non-metropolitan local governments with respect to housing, and what it tells us about the state of Australia’s federal system. We examine the findings of a national survey of local government before exploring the challenges of rural local governance and access to affordable housing. We then show how one rural council facilitates a range of activities to address housing challenges, and then compare its actions with those of its neighbours. Overall, we find it is not common for rural local governments to take a proactive approach to affordable housing, and we discuss the ways in which rural councils can take a leadership role in addressing local issues of housing affordability.
KW - Australia
KW - housing affordability
KW - rural local governance
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85131049401&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85131049401
SN - 1030-7923
VL - 27
SP - 4
EP - 25
JO - Australasian Journal of Regional Studies
JF - Australasian Journal of Regional Studies
IS - 1
ER -
