People want to talk to residents who make do with less power, farmers who grow organically, builders using earth and straw. It feels empowering to be with others who recycle and re-use, keep poultry and other small livestock, to exchange paint recipes and ways to avoid sprays. The risks for developers moving into a relatively uncertain type of development are greater. When it comes to the subdivision of land I suspect that Australians are not as pioneering as we would like to see ourselves. Unlike in other parts of the world there are few if any grants or subsidies available.
Rules are often archaic and red tape horrendous.
Here in Australia we are living in an incredibly sunny place, and I believe as a country we can show off about 12 houses with PV panels feeding electricity in to the grid. It's not very impressive. Councils in Australia are very reluctant to allow the subdivision of agricultural land. Not as far as we know. We are talking of professional consultancies, minor manufacturing and assembly, mail order businesses.