Finding the fit – the roles of regional economic development within land management

Finding the fit – the roles of regional economic development within land management

Rural/regional communities, industries and environments make a significant contribution to the vitality of Queensland. Regions are dynamic and diverse with their unique patterns of development and change. But they are also receding as a recent article from the New York Times echoes a narrative all too familiar for Australia.

The Rural Economies Centre of Excellence (RECoE) has been formed by four Queensland research institutions with funding from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries with the intention to have impact on how regions can survive and thrive into the future. Policy driven by rigorous economic analysis is a vital component in any successful community-led economic development.

Queensland is the most decentralised state in the country albeit with a strong south east corner that is home to one in seven Australians. For regional Queenslanders distance is an everyday tyranny that challenges the value chains our agricultural produce follow from origin to markets both domestic and increasingly overseas. Even the ability to digitally connect with an increasingly online but also highly urbanised population - 600 million Chinese consumers have come online in the past decade alone - is a challenge for many small and medium businesses that make up rural and regional Queensland.