Social Capital in Rural Australia

Abstract In Australia, as in the rest of the industrialised world, social capital has been identified as a key element in rural regeneration. For example, the Prime Minister, John Howard, speaks openly of the need for a ‘social coalition’ between communities, governments and businesses that will build social cohesion and trust at community level. For two decades successive Australian governments have followed the world-wide trend in industrialised nations to devolve responsibility for social welfare programs to local areas and to nongovernment agencies, the stated rationale being to break down welfare dependency and to promote individual responsibility. The dismantling of the welfare state and the triumph of capitalism have been defining features of the Australian landscape in recent years.