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This paper is concerned with the socio-spatial and ethical politics of redistribution, specifically the allocation of natural resources rents from political and economic cores to the economic and geographical peripheries whence the resource originated. Based on a case study of the coal seam gas sector in Queensland's Surat Basin, this paper focuses on the operation of the Queensland State Government's regional development fund for mining and energy extraction-affected regions. Employing an environmental justice framework, we critically explore the operation of these funds in ostensibly helping constituent communities in becoming resilient to the worst effects of the 'staples trap'. Drawing on secondary demographic and housing data for the region, as well as primary information collected from key respondents from mid-2018 to early 2019, we show that funds were distributed across all of the local government areas, and allocated to projects and places primarily on a perceived economic needs basis. However, concerns were raised with the probity of the funds' administration. In terms of recognition justice, the participation of smaller and more remote towns and local Indigenous communities was hampered by their structural marginalisation. Procedurally, the funds were criticised for the lack of local consultation taken in the development and approval of projects. While spatially concentrated expenditure may be the most cost-effective use of public monies, we argue that grant application processes should be open, transparent and inclusive, and the outcomes cognisant of the developmental needs of smaller communities, together with the need to foster regional solidarity and coherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, Padrón peppers are a widely known vegetable. Unknown to most, its origin lies in a small village, Herbón, located on the outskirts of the town of Padrón (Galicia, North‐West Spain). Local farmers have faced serious problems due to competition with producers from elsewhere commercialising peppers as 'Padron'. In response, local farmers sought to protect the specificities of the place of origin, a claim leading to the achievement of a geographical indication (GI) label in 2009. This initiative has been controversial, as the name of the pepper and the town were appropriated by a private company, and the GI boundaries were disputed by producers across Galicia. In the context of recent theoretical discussions on food studies, this article makes use of a territorial/spatial approach that integrates Anglophone and Francophone literature to develop a transversal explanation of the development of the GI designation. The institutional landscape, the negotiation of the GI specificities of the food, the local food culture and the collective action of farmers are revealed as key issues in its evolution and establishment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2008, the Western Australian State Government initiated its Royalties for Regions Program to fund its regional development mandate. The program, an outcome of an electoral commitment, reallocated 25% of the state's prodigious mineral royalties to non-metropolitan regions, with supporters applauding the improved regional conditions and critics claiming fiscal irresponsibility. Numerous reviews, mostly qualitative, were undertaken, but the state's Auditor-General asserted that the program remained unmeasured. This paper presents a quantitative analysis of the program's outcomes as framed by the state's regional development policies. It investigates the program's influence on populations in small local governments (with fewer than 5,000 residents), where its effect would be most prominent, to determine whether the program prompted population growth. The research uses census data to examine how these municipalities' population growth deviated from their projected growth while discounting for major resource projects – the mainstay of these local governments. The research concludes that the sampled populations typically declined more than projected. Discussion follows, questioning whether government investment and interventionist policies in regional development can achieve population growth in regional settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the right conditions, compounding socio‐political and economic change can dramatically alter government policy. From 2000, Western Australia, a resource‐rich jurisdiction, experienced significant change owing to a once‐in‐a‐generation resources boom, which forced a break with earlier development approaches. In 2008, regional interventionism returned to the State via the State Government's Royalties for Regions program. Departing from the neo‐liberal tradition, the program allocated 25 per cent of the State's royalty income to non‐metropolitan regions, over and above existing regional allocations, and its success remains disputed. While it is easy to question the program retrospectively, the socio‐economic and political circumstances from 2000 to 2008 reveal a "perfect storm" of conditions enabling the transition from neo‐liberalism to interventionism in regional development. This paper sets out to understand the multi‐faceted conditions that enabled the dramatic paradigm shift embodied by the program. To this end, it examines the State's rural–urban settlement dichotomy, its staples economy, and the policy context leading up to the program. Following that, the paper proposes a causal framework mapping out the factors driving and rationalising the program. These factors are then examined in detail and include perceived rural voter disenchantment, ineffectual regional development policy, the State's mining boom, inadequate regional development funding, the contrasting fortunes of two regions (illustrative of the impact of growth, and the lack thereof), and the political manoeuvring during the 2008 election. Finally, the paper concludes by considering how the conversion of these conditions resulted in the State's most significant regional policy redirection in decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]