The Commonwealth’s policies and Aboriginal people in regional Australia

The material presented in this chapter makes it evident that people living in rural and regional Australia have undergone substantive social change over the past 40 years. This is an important development and one which we will return to in the closing section of the chapter. The purpose of this endeavour, is to provide new policymakers with a perspective on the issues arising in rural and regional Australia and to create a space wherein policymakers can more readily engage with the community around these issues. Based on the material reported, there are strong justifications for the Commonwealth Government to take greater responsibility in country social policy. The material presented makes it evident that there is a core policy agenda at play in rural and regional Australia, an agenda which is about agricultural productivism, focused on the world stage, and that is based on the efficiency mantra.