Searching for social justice - decentralised governance and rural community sustainability

Government policies in Australia are heavily directed towards local communities developing their civil society networks to solve complex social, economic and environmental problems. In response, rural communities in Australia have mobilised around principles of sustainability to adapt towards region...

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Main Authors: Costello, Diane, Bishop, Brian John
Format: Journal Article
Published: Curtin University of Technology 2008
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/41530
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author Costello, Diane
Bishop, Brian John
author_facet Costello, Diane
Bishop, Brian John
author_sort Costello, Diane
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Government policies in Australia are heavily directed towards local communities developing their civil society networks to solve complex social, economic and environmental problems. In response, rural communities in Australia have mobilised around principles of sustainability to adapt towards regional self reliance. While decentralised governance is a key mechanism aimed at facilitating local empowerment and community resilience, devolution of responsibility to the local levels also enables governments to distance themselves from decision-making processes that deliver inequitable outcomes. This case study examines the impetus for community engagement and the effectiveness of social mobilisation approaches in delivering socially just outcomes. It is argued that mandatory mechanisms of accountability are vital to ensure that decentralised governance structures are inclusive and facilitate the inter- and intra-generational justice concerns of all community members.
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format Journal Article
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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publishDate 2008
publisher Curtin University of Technology
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-415302017-01-30T14:52:39Z Searching for social justice - decentralised governance and rural community sustainability Costello, Diane Bishop, Brian John Government policies in Australia are heavily directed towards local communities developing their civil society networks to solve complex social, economic and environmental problems. In response, rural communities in Australia have mobilised around principles of sustainability to adapt towards regional self reliance. While decentralised governance is a key mechanism aimed at facilitating local empowerment and community resilience, devolution of responsibility to the local levels also enables governments to distance themselves from decision-making processes that deliver inequitable outcomes. This case study examines the impetus for community engagement and the effectiveness of social mobilisation approaches in delivering socially just outcomes. It is argued that mandatory mechanisms of accountability are vital to ensure that decentralised governance structures are inclusive and facilitate the inter- and intra-generational justice concerns of all community members. 2008 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/41530 Curtin University of Technology restricted
spellingShingle Costello, Diane
Bishop, Brian John
Searching for social justice - decentralised governance and rural community sustainability
title Searching for social justice - decentralised governance and rural community sustainability
title_full Searching for social justice - decentralised governance and rural community sustainability
title_fullStr Searching for social justice - decentralised governance and rural community sustainability
title_full_unstemmed Searching for social justice - decentralised governance and rural community sustainability
title_short Searching for social justice - decentralised governance and rural community sustainability
title_sort searching for social justice - decentralised governance and rural community sustainability
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/41530