Chapter 10 : Decentralization

 It used to be said that there were seven good years and seven bad years in this country. In the good years money flowed to the farms and the neighboring towns benefited and grew. In the lean times, those towns struggled and shrank as the surrounding farms struggled when the rains failed. The farmers knew that in the dry years, times would get tough, and they did. 

If the supply of water can be controlled then country towns that struggled to hold people should find it easier to do so. This is because in the future the incomes of surrounding farmers will be greater and more stable as farmers receive a reliable and bankable source of water. 

The goal of this country should be to provide as many people on the planet with clean and high-quality food and energy as is feasible given the limitations of truly excellent economic and environmental systems provided by this country. We should be able to provide this at an affordable rate anywhere on the planet. With climate change and predicted “water wars” coming this century, we should position ourselves to bridge the gap for people who lose their ability to produce enough food and energy  for themselves. We can already see hints of this south of Tibet as hydro dams are built on the Mekong River and other important rivers restricting and tampering with river flow. 

If we are to feed vast numbers of people all over the planet affordably we also need the best agricultural university in the world. Presently that title is held by the Netherlands. For a country like Australia, with such a large agricultural sector, I find this confusing. I also find it confusing that “rogue farmers” like Peter Andrews (see Australian Story on the ABC) needs to tell our Agriculture Departments how to maintain land and creeks running through their land.  If we had proper research it should be the other way around. We need to improve our higher education for agriculture or we will miss out on an area where we should be the leaders. Regional universities like Armidale University and Curtin University should be geared up to take on the challenge with the clear goal to emulate the success of Wageningen University in the Netherlands and surpass it.  

With more reliable access to water, populations should grow in regional areas leading to an economical expansion of services. The quality of education in regional areas should be improving, the medical facilities should improve, services and entertainment and culture should improve as funds in regional areas become available to support such pursuits. Regional Local Government should become wealthier. Immigrants will more easily be attracted to these regional areas as they will see a growing society that provides opportunities for them and affordable living costs.

Successive Governments have spoken about bridging the gap between our indigenous peoples and the imported peoples. Indigenous people live in the outback. If resources migrate in their direction as we make the land more productive, hopefully they will benefit by having easier access to more resources. 

There is an AI revolution coming. That AI revolution will need huge data centres. Huge data centres need huge supplies of cheap energy. If every farmer in Australia is producing crops and energy, then energy prices here in Australia will fall. Data centres would do well to locate themselves throughout the Australian regional areas where land is cheap, energy is clean and cheap, and thriving townships offer workers facilities they need and want. 

Just because people move to regional Australia from the coast, doesn't mean giving up a love for sand and surf. Man-made beaches with perfectly formed waves and salt water could still exist in large interior country towns and cities in the form of water theme parks. And the waves would always be "pumping". Though it doesn't need to be salt water as long as swimmers wear flotation vests to compensate for the less dense water. There will no longer be the need to travel to the coast to catch that perfect wave or lie on the beach to get that tan. Such parks already exist overseas. The coastal resort feel is just at your next major interior town, which is fast developing into a regional city. People afraid of giving up their coastal lifestyle to “go bush” need to understand that they can have their cake and eat it too. I can imagine large hotel chains building such inland beaches with the hotels wrapping around one side to provide a great view and a windbreak. The Government may need to push this idea if it wants to encourage decentralization. Next time, a Local Government like Dubbo wants to build a public pool, give them a grant to help them build an inland beach with rolling waves, and go in partnership with a hotel chain to cut costs. 

With more space and improved lifestyle, plus more opportunities in the interior towns, those towns are attracting people from big cities where real estate is unaffordable. Many city people never made the transition to the country before because they could see no future or opportunity in the country. Finally, our young people will be able to own their own homes without getting up to their necks in debt and have realistic career opportunities as well. And young couples won't have to put off having kids for years because they are saving for a deposit on a prohibitively expensive house. 

To encourage decentralization, the Federal Government needs to pass industrial laws allowing employees to work from home remotely for say, 3 out of 4 weeks, if the employee can prove no loss in productivity. Unions may have to help create a case for the employee to put to the employer. It's not what unions traditionally do. But it may lead to improved outcomes for employees (their members) and employers. Businesses should be given tax breaks if they buy motel-style accommodation for their employees to stay at whilst they are at the office on the 4th week when not working remotely.  

Remember in China how they built all those ghost cities. No one came, so they had to demolish billions of dollars' worth of housing. What they should have done was sell the properties to investors or homeowners at the purchase price plus a reverse income attached to the property, paid monthly from a trust. So whoever occupies the property doesn't pay rent. They actually get an income equivalent to the average income for the country. That income lasts for 5 years. Negative gearing advantages are given in this location and tightened slightly in big expensive cities to compensate for the extra government funding and to control the flow of real estate investment. 

This would be a great opportunity for young enterprises to start up in a new, growing market. Whilst you are trying to get your new business off the ground, your living expenses are paid for by the property. 

Say a brand new town is being planned and built from scratch, where once there was no water. But now water exists, profitable farms exist, and the need for a nearby township exists. Supercharge the town's growth. To buy a property in this brand-new town, you need to pay for the property and the 5-year income stream that comes with it. As an investor, you are not only buying the property but also ensuring the growth of the town as you, along with other investors, finance the town's growth. So you are ensuring capital appreciation of your investment, especially if you obtained a good location early in the development of the township.