Sixty partners from government, the private sector, Aboriginal communities, non-government bodies, research agencies and universities today announced a major bid to overcome the economic disadvantages faced by a million Australians who live in remote areas of the continent.
The proposal for a national Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation (CRC-REP) is the most comprehensive approach to the issue of economic isolation yet put forward, the head of the bid Jan Ferguson said.
"The proposed research institution has three main goals:
- To develop new ways to strengthen regional economies across remote Australia
- To build new enterprises to provide jobs and livelihoods in remote areas
- To improve the education and training pathways for people living in remote areas.
"The remote regions of Australia generate far more export income per head and have more enterprises per head than the rest of Australia combined - but in terms of economic opportunity they often face great disadvantages and these impact directly on lives and communities," she said.
"Australia relies on its remote regions for wealth and employment in the cities - but the remote regions are still very much the poor cousins when it comes to access to markets, opportunities and to services like education, health, housing and social welfare.
The sheer breadth of support from federal and state government agencies as well as large, medium and small enterprises, Aboriginal communities, NGOs and some of the country's top research bodies was indicative of the importance and urgency of the proposal.
"This is the consensus of a great many people and organisations who have devoted deep thought to the challenges facing remote Australia and how to overcome them. There has never been a consensus quite like this, nor such an opportunity to harmonise the national effort to build the remote economy, which embraces three quarters of our continent.
"Such an alliance can really only be achieved through the cooperative research centre model, which enables all this widely differing entities to work closely together for the same ends."
The CRC-REP will be a ‘public good' research organisation delivering better business models and tools to remote populations. Within 15 years, this would help achieve:
- over 2,295 jobs for Aboriginal people
- savings in welfare payments of $160 million
- Increased profitability in remote pastoral industry of $292 million
- Improved educational and health standards of residents in remote regions
- Increased health and wellbeing in remote communities due to regular livelihoods.
"A very high priority will be helping Aboriginal communities to build new enterprises based around their cultural and natural resources - enterprises that will generate real and sustainable livelihoods for people living in remote settlements," she said.
"The Council of Australian Governments has declared a target of halving the gap in employment outcomes between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians, reducing welfare dependency and equipping them with the skills necessary in the 21st century labour market. Our aim is to make a significant contribution by working with Aboriginal people living in remote areas."
The CRC-REP will also pioneer a world-first approach to precision pastoralism that integrates pasture cover with stock management to achieve sustainable production in Australia's - and the world's - drylands.
It will help in the development of new Aboriginal enterprises based around bush foods and medicines, culture, art and tourism.
It will work with the mining industry and local government to ensure enduring benefits to surrounding regions and communities during mining operations and after they cease.
It will help to develop sustainable energy solutions for remote areas and the nation as a whole, based on prodigious renewable resources and other opportunities, and develop pathways for remote populations to adapt to climate change.
"We will also explore innovative ways to improve remote education, adapting it better to local needs, making better use of technology and finding ways to attract and retain quality teachers in remote communities," Ms Ferguson said.
"Remote Australia may only account for 5 per cent of the population, but it covers three-quarters of the continent. It has suffered neglect and inefficient, imposed solutions for far too long.
"The CRC-REP is designed to build the economic strength, independence, skills and opportunities remote Australia requires to make its fullest contribution to the sustainability and economic prosperity of the nation."
More information:
Jan Ferguson, Managing Director, Desert Knowledge CRC, 08 8959 6041 or 0401 719 882
Craig James, General Manager Commercialisation and Communication, DKCRC, 0408 838 194
Prof. Julian Cribb, DKCRC media, 0418 639 245
