Revenue-contingent loans should be offered to minimise taxpayer subsidies while protecting drought-affected farmers from insolvency.
Articles on Drought policy
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Determining whether a region or farm is “in drought” is a longstanding and complex problem which remains important to our future drought response.
Nile communities carefully monitored and recorded the river’s flow. Centuries later these records are still being used by water resource managers around the world to analyse unpredictable river flows.
The Australian government is effectively spending A$95 million so it can sell water to farmers for A$10 million.
The question in drought relief is this: do we want more or fewer people to be involved in a farming activity that is vulnerable to drought?
Michelle Grattan discusses this week in politics with University of Canberra Assistant Professor Caroline Fisher.
Speaking with The Conversation’s politics podcast, McCormack said in hindsight, it would have been better to have told Nationals who’d been agitating for the code that negotiations were underway.
Deputy PM Michael McCormack on the drought and restive Nationals
The Conversation, CC BY33.7 MB (download)
Following tensions in the Nationals party room over the bring-forward of the dairy code for Pauline Hanson, the Deputy PM admits that the party leadership mishandled the situation.
Following a deal with Hanson, some Queensland NSW Nationals were so furious that a leak canvassed mutterings about the possibility of a “spill” move against deputy leader Bridget McKenzie.
University of Canberra Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Leigh Sullivan discusses the week in politics with Michelle Grattan.
On two fronts now Morrison, who likes to be in control, is at the mercy of events he can’t control: the drought, and the IMF’s downgrading of Australia’s growth outlook.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has asked Australians to pray for rain, but can God answer prayers? And if He can, should He?
Yes, Australia naturally cycles through dry and wet periods. But that doesn’t mean we can simply build more dams and trust they’ll be filled.
Alan Jones unleashed his well-known tactics of lecturing and insult as he accused Scott Morrison of failing the immediate needs of drought-stricken farmers.
A report from The Australia Institute says at least 20 to 30 large private dams have been constructed in the Murray-Darling basin in recent years.
Many rural town water supplies cannot weather even a single year of drought. This is a failure of planning and funding on a grand scale.
Research shows water restrictions can mean well-off households have to cut down on leisure and luxury. For disadvantaged households, and particularly women, it is a different story.
We need to make sure well-meaning policy responses to drought don’t do more harm than good.
Australian wildlife can generally cope with drought, but they’re not prepared for the combination of people, introduced animals, and no water.
Top contributors
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Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
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Adjunct Associate Professor, Centre for Regional and Rural Futures, Deakin University
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Professor of Economics and Head of School, Adelaide University
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Emeritus Professor in the History of Religious Thought, The University of Queensland
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Honorary Fellow, Infrastructure Engineering, The University of Melbourne
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Professor, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW
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Research Fellow for Water Sensitive Cities, Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University
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Professor, Research School of Earth Sciences and Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, Australian National University
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Professor of Conservation Biology, Charles Darwin University
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Associate Professor of Law, Monash University
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Visiting Adjunct Professor, School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand
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Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
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Professor of Wildlife Conservation, Australian National University
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Emeritus Professor, College of Business and Economics, Australian National University
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Honorary Professor of Public Policy, Australian National University