The Bronx in Australia: The Metaphoric Stigmatization of Public Housing Tenants in Australian Towns and Cities

This paper contributes to the literature on the stigmatization of Australian public housing tenants and to the literature on Australian housing metaphors, explaining the usage of “the Bronx” as a means of stigmatizing country town and suburban localities dominated by public housing. It compares four Australian situations where the marginalization of the poor is expressed through the typification of the area in which they live as “the Bronx” by local usage, the media or both, comparing these with a fifth situation that matched the signal characteristics of this typification but escaped being so labeled. An examination of the Bronx’s (New York City) history shows the development of its reputation as a metaphor for the urban ghetto. The results of qualitative fieldwork undertaken in the Western Australian towns of Kalgoorlie, Carnarvon, and Broome are compared with media representations of analogous stigmatizations in New South Wales

The second wave: Aboriginal cultural centres in sustainable development

Over the past 10 years there has been a widespread, localised, uncoordinated effort across Australia to create Aboriginal cultural centres. Generally funded by regional development bodies and/or local government, these centres focus on leveraging culture to drive human development (training, employment) while meeting a range of social and cultural goals. Among their goals are cultural events, engagement with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities, and education about Aboriginal cultural knowledge. They can be differentiated from the first wave of Aboriginal arts centres that began in the 1970s that were controlled by Aboriginal organisations in which the Federal government exercised influence via funding models, had the principle activity of facilitating the production and marketing of art, and tended to be in remote locations. The focus here is on an exemplar of the established, though still developing, second wave of Aboriginal cultural centres. This paper presents a hypothesis on the characteristics of the second wave of Aboriginal cultural centres and their alignment with state-defined priorities for sustainable development through the case study of an Aboriginal culture and heritage centre. Insights are drawn from key informant interviews about the creation and operation of Gwoondwardu Mia, the Gascoyne Aboriginal Heritage and Cultural Centre in Carnarvon, Western Australia

Old stock, new bonds? Taste, tradition, technology and the changing geographies of livestock breeds in Australia

There has been renewed geographical interest in the relationships between animals, locality and society, leading to a reappraisal of animals within capitalist agricultural systems. Farming is conceptualised as a network that is constructed between people, animals, environments and technologies in particular localities. Australian farming is a complex hybrid of ‘colonial’, ‘indigenous’ and ‘post-colonial’ discourses of society, economy and environment. Livestock have become the ‘quintessential hybrids’ in these networks, having their lives de-animalised by human intervention yet, simultaneously, being valued for their ‘commodified naturalness’.This paper examines the role of livestock in the histories and geographies of farming in Australia. Three key ‘regimes’ are identified: The ‘Colonial Period’. Prior to colonisation, no animals were kept as domestic livestock, leading to the importation of animals from Britain and conflicts between ‘colonial’ and ‘indigenous’ knowledges of the environment. The ‘Productivist’ Regime. Exposure to other economic regimes challenged UK-orientated farming practices. Animals were imported from elsewhere, significantly diversifying Australia’s national herd. The first ‘Australian’ livestock, animals recognised as new, distinct breeds, bred specifically for Australian economic and environmental conditions, were developed. This was facilitated by technological developments, including the ready transport of semen, as well as live animals, across the planet. Changing market demands also drove these changes. The current ‘Multifunctional’ Regime. The diversification of rural and agricultural activities, including emphases on hobby farming and quality foods, led to the revival of some breeds, the import of others and renewed interest in Australian animals. The Australian Rare Breeds Trust has fostered a growing interest in the heritage, national identity and conservation of livestock found in Australia. The cultivation of emus and crocodiles; the hunting and gathering of ‘bush tucker’; and the presence of feral species serve to underline the multifunctional nature of Australian food and farming, and raise questions about the ‘natural’, indigenous and domestic status of animals in Australia.This paper places particular emphasis on the import and development of breeds. It reports our findings on the historical geography of Australian, and particularly Western Australian, cattle breeds. Sources will include the records of the state Agricultural Society, to provide quantitative data on the changing fortunes of the various breeds throughout the twentieth century. Surveys and interviews with breeders who have ‘pioneered’ the introduction of new cattle types will provide more qualitative material on the motivations behind and the challenges involved in establishing new breeds in a new land

The housing careers of Indigenous urban households

This project examines the housing careers of Indigenous urban households and compares them with those of non-Indigenous households. The research project elicits these differences by: understanding the influences, motivations, experiences, decisions, and choices made by Indigenous households in urban areas; identifying housing access issues and barriers; examining the affect of household formation, economic participation and family and community responsibilities on housing careers

Indigenous homelessness

This research is to undertake a comparative analysis of Indigenous homelessness in the contrasting settings of major cities and regional country town centres. The research sought to compare the understandings of Indigenous homelessness held by Indigenous homeless people, and those of the providers of services to Indigenous homeless people. It offers an analysis of the relationship between homelessness, household overcrowding and mobility patterns in the context of Indigenous culture.  Authors: Christina Birdsall-Jones, Vanessa Corunna, Nalita Turner, Gemma Smart and Wendy Sha

The Great Australian Dream in Urban Indigenous Western Australia

The State of Australian Cities (SOAC) national conferences have been held biennially since 2003 to support interdisciplinary policy-related urban research. This paper was presented at SOAC 4 held in Perth from 24 to 27 November 2009. SOAC 4 was hosted by the University of Western Australia, Curtin University, Edith Cowan University and Murdoch University and held at The University of Western of Australia’s Crawley campus.SOAC 4 was a collaborative venture between colleagues from the planning, geography and related disciplines across the four public universities. The meta-theme of this conference - city growth, sustainability, vitality and vulnerability – sought to capture the dynamic and complex nature and contexts in which Australian cities find themselves in the early 21st century. The last decade or so has seen Australian cities and many of their residents benefit from significant economic prosperity. With this economic prosperity, largely on the back of a resources boom, Australian cities and resources and mineral-rich regions, particularly in Queensland and in WA, have been subjected to profound demographic, social, economic, environmental and political changes. In the wake of the so-called ‘global financial crisis’ we have witnessed the rise of what might be called ‘neo-Keynesianism’ as various liberal democratic nations have pumped billions of dollars into their national economies via ‘bail outs’ or a stimulus package’ in an effort to stave off economic recession. The economic prosperity and more recent uncertainty that has been experienced in the last decade provides a fascinating and dare we say it a timely backdrop to critically reflect on the condition of urban Australia. All published papers have been subject to a peer reviewing process