Notes from the editors.

Hefferan, Michael ; Wilson, Bruce ; Collits, Paul 等

Regional Science is a very broad church. It uses the critical focus of geographic regions and communities of interest as, in effect, the building blocks of physical, economic and social/community advancement. This fusion reflects contemporary 'real life'. Rarely, if ever, do the solutions to complex, contemporary problems lie in the expertise of, or the analysis by, a single discipline. Typically, such problems are played out in a regional context with sustainable, positive outcomes involving all of the activities represented under the Regional Science mantra.

However, this increasingly relevant advantage also presents challenges. Because of that diversity and multi-faceted nature, the whole study area always runs something of a risk of becoming 'all things to all people'. In the same vein, it suffers from a lower level of recognition and profile than more traditional, single disciplines and may be challenged by the lack of strong, agreed philosophies, protocols and priorities that typically underpin more traditional sciences.

One way to ensure that a balance is established between these two forces is to ensure that some level of specialisation is encouraged within the wide parameters outlined above.

On the basis of all of that, this edition of the Journal has been developed around the theme 'Local Governance and Regional Development', a priority area which, in the dynamics of the Australian political, economic and community environment, is rapidly changing and is particularly worthy of investigation.

As well as the contributors to this edition, the Editorial Board wishes to thank members Roberta Ryan, John Martin and, particularly, Bligh Grant for their excellent work in the promotion and co-ordination of this edition. Your work is much appreciated.

Editorial Board

Professor Michael Hefferan

Professor Bruce Wilson

Adjunct Professor Paul Collits

Dr. Wayne Graham