Geospatial analyses of local economic structures in the rangeland areas of the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia
Boyd D. Blackwell A D , Brian E. Dollery B , Andrew M. Fischer C and Jim A. Mcfarlane A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A CRC for Remote Economic Participation, UNE Business School, EBL Building, Trevenna Road, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.
B UNE Centre for Local Government, EBL Building, Trevenna Road, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.
C Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, Science Building, Old School Road, University of Tasmania, Newnham, Tas. 7248, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: boydb@une.edu.au
The Rangeland Journal 40(3) 251-262 https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ17065
Submitted: 16 June 2017 Accepted: 10 April 2018 Published: 14 May 2018
Abstract
We examine the economic structure of Australian local government areas in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia using economic base theory and location quotients. Whereas the economic base approach is long established, in this paper we extend the three-staged geospatial visualisation method of Blackwell et al. (2017) to two additional state jurisdictions. Focusing on the economic structure of rangeland local government areas, we find that these vary significantly, implying that no single generic development policy is likely to be effective, but rather these need to be crafted individually. We demonstrate that geospatial visualisations of employment location quotients can identify local economic vulnerability as well as opportunity.
Additional keywords: geospatial visualisation, regional development, remote Australia, rural Australia.
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