The changing geographies of power, knowledge and access in Australia's financial services sector: a regional development perspective. This project investigates one of the most pressing issues in the development of regional Australia: whether the modern financial services sector acts to reinforce or remediate existing patterns of uneven development. The research focuses on two key issues: 1) how the restructuring of the banking sector has affected the availability of financial services and ventur ....The changing geographies of power, knowledge and access in Australia's financial services sector: a regional development perspective. This project investigates one of the most pressing issues in the development of regional Australia: whether the modern financial services sector acts to reinforce or remediate existing patterns of uneven development. The research focuses on two key issues: 1) how the restructuring of the banking sector has affected the availability of financial services and venture capital in rural and urban Australia; and 2) the relationship between the changing geography of financial services and financial institutions' increasing reliance upon instrumental knowledge about their customers. The research will produce a model of the role of modern financial services provision and market knowledge in regional development.Read moreRead less
Contested Landscapes and Divided Communities. The Struggle for Place and Belonging in Papua New Guinea. PNG, as Australia's nearest neighbour and major recipient of Australian foreign aid, is facing major challenges including a weakening state capacity to govern, a breakdown in civil society and escalating law and order problems. These processes, which led to civil conflict in Fiji and Solomon Islands, for example, remain largely misunderstood. Nevertheless, such events have major implications f ....Contested Landscapes and Divided Communities. The Struggle for Place and Belonging in Papua New Guinea. PNG, as Australia's nearest neighbour and major recipient of Australian foreign aid, is facing major challenges including a weakening state capacity to govern, a breakdown in civil society and escalating law and order problems. These processes, which led to civil conflict in Fiji and Solomon Islands, for example, remain largely misunderstood. Nevertheless, such events have major implications for our region's political and economic security. By generating a greater understanding of the contexts and factors contributing to these tensions the project will contribute to better informed policy making by the Australian government, especially in the area of international assistance.Read moreRead less