I Love a sunburnt policy environment : how creative rural community builders and a state government reframed their policy environment in an effort to stimulate regional development

The “Blueprint for the Bush” a joint initiative of the Queensland Government and an agri-political lobby group called AgForce, is an innovative attempt to develop a 10-year plan to help Queensland’s rural and remote communities and industries manage change, build their strengths and increase their sustainability. This initiative was developed out of a “re-framing of the policy context of regional development in Queensland and is a fist attempt to address the issues confronting the sustainability and vitality of Queensland’s Regions. This paper examines the “Blueprint for the Bush” as a complex regional development initiative involving inland rural Queensland communities with stable or declining populations, limited diversity in their economic structures, aging infrastructure, an aging population and a desire to retain services and grow their populations. The formation of new relationships and a resulting change in self-perception, appreciation of the external environment and functional relationships between communities is highlighted in the paper as a signpost of a potential change to regional communities and potentially if realised a powerful aid in regional development. However the question remains as to whether the initiative has gone far enough or provides an adequate framework to address the underlining and systemic issues confronting rural and regional Queensland. Drawing on the work of a range of authors on civic engagement, community, democracy, public policy and regional development, the paper critiques the “Blueprint for the Bush” and explores the adequacy of the approach in reframing the policy and partnership environments and the ability of the plan to act as an enduring catalyst for true innovative and enduring change that will achieve sustainable regional development.