In terms of a Community Economy Development system – local finance inc. credit unions initiatives such as the Maleny Credit Union are an absolutely crucial part. This has been documented many times including in my research over the past 20 years. In my role as Director Labour Market TAFE in Qld I helped in the establishment of this initiative in the late 80’s early 90’s. In this regard I was simply a helper and funder of a truly great person in the Community Economic Development arena in Australia – a true legend – the late [b]Jill Jordan[/b] – she would roll over in her grave at this injustice – though in a strange way an understandable injustice at that.

Further my research has shown that: one of the great difficulties with the ‘realpolitique’ of Community Economic Development is the logistics of bureaucratic compliance in each instance and this has prevented and continues to prevent serious efforts at localism including indigenous business ventures and social ventures generally including ventures for differently abled Australians. Government initiatives are little more than whitewash and often at the end of the day nothing gets delivered much like the intervention and indigenous participation in building houses in the NT. Local moves often fumble and stumble and get absorbed into or just capitulate to or just simply capitulate/give up in the face of the huge compliance on-costs.

This is a truly momentous and sad moment in the would-be history of Community Economic Development in Australia – more a case of silenced voices and invisible practices. This has huge implications for serious attempts at disaster recovery indigenous economy development and Community Economic Development generally. Though few will note its passing.

The issue here is that no one is looking to learn the lessons here the policy and strategic and ethical lessons – no one – well maybe except us if we put our heads together.

As a gesture of good will I will give some lessons I have cobbled together and that arise from my research:
[ul]the importance of LETS/local currencies
the importance of Zones of Social Innovation
the importance of including a local economy in well-designed ecovillages (none do at the moment)
the need to get the big end of town to get into semi-autonomous ethical regional banking like we sought to do in the Local Employment Initiatives Nationally in 1987 and Westpac does with the Bank of Melbourne. [/ul]

Anyway all of this is utterly beyond indigenous organisations and individuals and so it should be the Government that has to do better with beneficial regulation of the smaller financial entities.

I well remember how Forresters ANA (where I had my ethical superannuation) was driven to the edge of closure by the compliance requirements taking over a full time person to provide. It further points to the absolutely vital ‘deep Community Economic Development’ approach of those of us such as R. to keep the dream alive.

To those of us committed in our lives to bring the new economy out of the debris of the old – time is short and there are many dark nights ahead.

Other thoughts? What do we do?

Ciao P.