Vegetable growers angry over research direction

An independent review into Horticulture Australia Limited is raising concerns that have been brewing among growers for many years.

The rumbling is in the vegetable sector with a number of submissions to an ongoing independent review of Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL) revealing concerns that Australia's research capacity has been destroyed.

Largest horticulture levy payer calls for reform

Australia's largest mushroom producer, Costa, is unhappy with the way horticulture levies are managed and spent.

Governance advisory panel for Treasury

The Secretary of the Commonwealth Treasury, Martin Parkinson, has established an Australian Treasury Advisory Council. This group of respected leaders will make up a governance and advisory board that will help replicate the discipline provided by a private sector governance board.

Revisiting the reliability of ABS' GDP growth estimates - 2002 RBA research paper

Estimates of GDP growth have, at least for some periods, been subject to substantial alteration for quite some time after they were first released—sometimes for as much as 5-10 years. This issue was the subject of one of the more interesting past RBA research discusison papers—Real-time National Accounts Data by Andrew Stone and Sharon Wardrop (September 2002).

Food Security 1 — Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies conference

I was at an Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies conference at the ANU last week. The lowlight of an otherwise excellent conference was the final session on food security. Particularly ordinary was the presentation by Julian Cribb, a science communicator and journalist. The slides or papers aren't available yet, but his talk was consistent with this presentation and his book The Coming Famine.

Food Security 2 — Presentation to the Academy of Social Sciences

In my earlier blog today, Food Security 1, on the food security seminar convened last week by the ANU, I referred to a 2011 symposium organised by the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, following release of the PMSEIC report on food security.

I presented on the issue of agricultural production in the Murray-Darling Basin in the context of international food security (I was chief economist at the  Murray-Darling Basin Authority at the time). While not criticising the PMSEIC report directly, I pointed out that water (in this case) was just one factor of production, and farmers are adept at maintaining production, even in the face of very sizable changes in input availability or prices.

Food Security 3 — Agricultural productivity growth

At the recent ABARES Outlook 2014 conference, there was an excellent presentation by Ken Ash of the OECD on Policies to Enhance Agricultural Productivity Growth.

Productivity Commission Staff Paper - Non-market Valuation

A new Productivity Commission Staff Working Paper examines the potential for these methods to contribute to policy decisions that better reflect community preferences. The paper also offers suggestions on how best use can be made of non-market valuation in developing environmental policy.

ANU forum on competition policy reforms - Rod Sims

The ANU Crawford School hosted an excellent forum on Friday, mostly a retrospective from key players in the 1995 Hilmer competition reforms, but also with some interesting insights into competition policy design and work left to do for the Abbott Government's new review.

Rod Sims talked about what the Abbott Government's proposed review of competition policy should focus on, and what can be learnt from the Hilmer reforms.

ANU forum on competition policy reforms - Peter Harris

The ANU Crawford School hosted an excellent forum on Friday, mostly a retrospective from key players in the 1995 Hilmer competition reforms, but also with some interesting insights into competition policy design and work left to do for the Abbott Government's new review.

Peter Harris scoffed at the idea that all the low hanging fruit (in terms of economic reform) had been picked—there never was any low hanging fruit. Getting agreement to undertake the Hilmer review was extremely difficult, and so too was implementing the competition reforms.

ANU forum on competition policy reforms - Ken Henry

The ANU Crawford School hosted an excellent forum on Friday, mostly a retrospective from key players in the 1995 Hilmer competition reforms, but also with some interesting insights into competition policy design and work left to do for the Abbott Government's new review.

ANU forum on competition policy reforms - Fred Hilmer

The ANU Crawford School hosted an excellent forum on Friday, mostly a retrospective from key players in the 1995 Hilmer competition reforms, but also with some interesting insights into competition policy design and work left to do for the Abbott Government's new review.

Fred Hilmer talked about what the Abbott Government's proposed review of competition policy should focus on, and what can be learnt from the Hilmer reforms.

Agriculture infrastructure development in Australia

In NAB's latest Corporate Finance Insights, Frank Drum and Ben Matigian examine the infrastructure gap in Australian agriculture and the potential for strategic infrastructure investment in the sector.

Australia’s role in securing the food, water and supply chains of Asia

Dr Ken Henry, (former Treasury Secretary) has provided an insightful and realistic assessment of the role for Australian agriculture in Asia in the latest version of NAB's Corporate Finance Insights.

Basin Plan Timeline for 2014

The MDBA has released a timeline of Basin planning activities for 2014.

There are a lot of publications due for release this year, which will start providing some of the detailed planning information, including:

• water trade guidelines (March)
• evaluation framework (April)
• annual environmental watering priorities for 2014-15 (June)
• environmental watering strategy (November)

State of Housing Supply Report: Changes in how we live

Around Australia, most housing markets exhibit dampened demand and construction rates, reflecting an investment environment of relative uncertainty and risk aversion. While prices have edged upward in many places (significantly in Darwin), relatively low levels of demand continue despite historically low interest rates. 

Encouraging entrepreneurial thinking in rural communities

Farm consolidation, globalisation of new technologies and different ways of doing business are all having an impact on Australia’s rural communities. For those with an entrepreneurial mindset, the changes signal opportunity rather than the threat of decline.

“In the rural sector, the ability to identify, create and develop new opportunities is fundamental to building sustainable businesses and making the most of emerging markets,” says Dr Yasmin Chalmers, Director of the Centre for the Study of Rural Australia at Marcus Oldham College. “We designed the EntruBIZ program to encourage farmers and other business owners to think in a more entrepreneurial way.”