ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the Australian state's involvement in rural adjustment policy up to 1988, and what the move towards a more economically-driven policy-making agenda might mean sociologically for capital accumulation in agriculture. According to the Industries Assistance Commission (IAC) - which strongly recommended introduction of integrated rural adjustment measures - previous reconstruction schemes had not allowed farmers to 'adjust' to demand-based market conditions. The issue of rural adjustment was seen as an important priority for the Fraser government, with the IAC asked to report on what measures should be put in place after the Rural Reconstruction Scheme expired in mid-1976. The 1988 Rural Adjustment Scheme (RAS) represents a significant move towards a more intensely neo-liberal policy-making agenda. While the RAS can be seen basically as an economic lever used to dislodge low-income producers from agriculture, it is also important to note the continued emphasis on welfare assistance.