Issue 2

Introduction to the issue.

Mike Hefferan and Bruce Wilson

Page Number - 147

New Zealand is a small advanced economy in the South
Pacific Ocean. Policy advisors often compare New Zealand’s economic
performance with those of other successful small advanced economies. These
comparisons generally recognise that New Zealand is uniquely distant from the
world’s largest and highest-income markets. Nevertheless, it has become
commonplace for policy advisors to say “Geography is not destiny: New Zealand
can do better”. This paper draws on standard regional economic development
analysis to conclude that geography matters for economic strategies. It draws on
endogenous growth theory to explain how the properties of knowledge mean that
knowledge can sustain increasing returns to scale and hence productivity growth.
The paper draws on that theory to introduce a mission-oriented innovation
research programme that has contributed to creating and capturing greater value
from New Zealand food and fibre exports.

Caroline Saunders, Paul Dalziel and Andrew McCallum

Page Number - 149

Frequently, studies exploring the determinants of commuting flows have adopted global modelling techniques. These techniques estimate a single set of coefficients, implicitly assuming that the same relationship applies across the entire study area. This paper tests that notion, estimating a global spatial interaction model to explain commuting outflows from Newcastle, using census 2016 journey to work data. Results from this model are compared to the information generated using a count data version of a local regression model. Finally, a spatial clustering technique is applied to the estimated coefficients of the local models to identify spatial regimes in the relationship between commuting outflows from Newcastle and the model's estimated parameters.

Bernard Trendle

Page Number - 179

The purpose of this article is to identify the current and future of healthcare and social assistance workforce needs in Gippsland, a region of the State of Victoria in Australia. In doing so, it uses a range of data sources to illustrate the nature of the anticipated future workforce, based on the government forecasts of future population changes. It then uses data from the O*NET database to identify the types of skills and knowledge required. This analysis focuses on the present and future workforce of Gippsland. In Gippsland, the healthcare and social assistance sectors together employ 14,000 people as well as an additional 4,000 in related administration, clerical duties, and allied duties. Gippsland has fewer healthcare professionals per capita than Australia overall (except for nurses) and has a disproportionate number of professionals that are older or recruited from overseas. Numbers employed will rise from around 14,000 to reach nearly 19,000 by 2036. As well as growing numbers, the skill intensity of the work has risen over the years. Also, the technical complexity of many jobs has changed, which means people will need to undertake life-long learning. Tertiary education providers will need to modify and expand their offerings in these fields to cope with the changes in skill and knowledge requirements of many occupations.

Malcolm Abbott and Alexis Esposto

Page Number - 202

To examine the realities of COVID-19 on enterprise development in regional Australia, this paper discusses the findings of a study which examined the capacity of a remote community to exploit changes occurring in the marketplace. The study identified that barriers to entrepreneurship which existed pre-COVID-19 remain, with COVID-19 acting as a driver and barrier. To exploit changes in the marketplace, experienced entrepreneurs have higher levels of entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) connected to innovating and adapting. However, nascent and experienced entrepreneurs require support to develop other areas of ESE. A conceptual framework is developed to support enterprise development.

Janine Williamson, Najmeh Hassanli, Cristina Rodrigues, Skye Akbar and Haritha Wedathanthirige

Page Number - 221

In this paper, we investigate the role of social enterprise in bridging a gap in health provision that is experienced commonly in rural Australia. Drawing on an exploratory case study conducted in the small town of Emerald in Central Queensland, we use primary interview data to understand better how one, wholly community-owned, not-for-profit, social enterprise has moved beyond the traditional primary health care model and constructed a new way to deliver services in a rural setting. This case study provides an example of a community-driven response that endeavors to transform health service challenges into opportunities. This research identifies key strategies, strengths and business factors that have contributed to a locally responsive health service. We also focus on the business model and examine how innovation has shaped the operation. Key findings are presented as ten critical actions that helped the business establish itself as a thriving social enterprise in rural Australia.

Lisa A. Caffery, Olav T. Muurlink and Andrew W. Taylor-Robinson

Page Number - 237

The acquisition of land undertaken for public purposes has left many residential property owners deprived of their homes and meaningful opportunity to rehouse. The response and subsequent framework developed by government have been to address such loss by payment of market value with other heads of compensation for incidental loss, with a top-up of solatium for good measure in some states. This form of compensation does not recognise that dispossessed owner’s homes are their story. The absence of understanding their loss has led to gross dissatisfaction towards government and the public purposes for which land is acquired. This paper defines the meaning of place attachment and the factors that impact dispossessed property owners in Brisbane and the Gold Coast Queensland. Interviews with acquiring officers and dispossessed homeowners demonstrate the complexity of cases, the lack of preparation and the limitation of skilled professionals within the acquisition process. It illuminates the underlying budgetary blindness of government by substituting place attachment with monetary compensation. It sets out the factors that account for loss and the equivalence needed through a dispossessed owner’s lens. It defines the factors that government has recognised should be reformed, but yet to be adopted in achieving acquisition by agreement.

John Sturgeon and Vince Mangioni

Page Number - 258