ABSTRACT
Australiat rural land-use planning is dominated by its colonial past, its location in a remote comer of the World and its very low rainfall. The history of Australia since European colonization is short; the Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 from the federation of six separate colonies, now states, which retained most powers over land. Much o f the better land in Australia was colonized at a time
when Europeans thought they had an evolutionary right to take over from the non-productive indigenous occupants, the Aborigines (terra nullius). In common with other European ex-colonial countries, Australia now has areas of land reserved for the surviving native peoples. Australia is at the extensive margin o f the world’s trading system
with a very small population and market o f only 16 million people. Land has a near zero rent and most Australian land-use planning policy has been directed to promote economic activity and to minimize locational disadvantage. Conservation policies have not had a high priority, at least until recently. The following sections describe some important overarching
factors that have influenced the development of Australiat land resources and its land-use planning systems.
