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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 30(1)

Sustainable governance for small desert settlements: learning from the multi-settlement regionalism of Anmatjere Community Government Council

Will Sanders A C and Sarah Holcombe A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University, ACT 0200, Australia.

B Desert Knowledge Co-operative Research Centre, PO Box 3971, Alice Springs, NT 0871, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: Willliam.Sanders@anu.edu.au

The Rangeland Journal 30(1) 137-147 https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ07034
Submitted: 1 June 2007  Accepted: 3 December 2007   Published: 1 April 2008

Abstract

In light of some basic desert demography, this paper examines governance patterns for small desert settlements. It traces policy histories which led to the emergence of highly localised, single settlement governance arrangements during the 1970s and ’80s. It also identifies the many pushes since within the Northern Territory local government system for more regional, multi-settlement governance structures. The paper goes on to examine the history of one such regional, multi-settlement arrangement in central Australia, the Anmatjere Community Government Council established in 1993. The paper details our work with this Council over the last 4 years on ‘issues of importance or concern’ to them. The paper aims to learn from the ACGC experience in order to inform the more radical restructuring of Northern Territory local government currently underway towards larger multi-settlement regionalism. It concludes with four specific lessons, the most important of which is that regionalism must build on single settlement localism.

Additional keywords: local government, Northern Territory, policy histories.


Acknowledgements

The work reported in this publication was supported by funding from the Australian Government Cooperative Research Centres Programme through the Desert Knowledge CRC; the views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Desert Knowledge CRC or its Participants. The work reported in this publication has also been supported by Reconciliation Australia and the Australian Research Council through Linkage Project 0348744. The views expressed are the sole responsibility of the authors.


References


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