News and Views is AARES' newsletter. You can find the current and past editions below.
Newsletter of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society Inc.
Volume 18, Number 1, April 2006
PRESIDENTS COLUMN
Call for Nominations for Secretary of AARES
Call for nominations for Manager – Promotion and Development
REPORTS TO THE 2006 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
AARES 50th ANNIVERSARY GUEST ADDRESS
Guest address at 50th Anniversary AARES conference dinner - M. John Phillips AO
CONTACT DETAILS for office bearers and central office
The Society staged another most successful conference at Manly in February and much credit must go to John Madden and his helpers on the Local Organising Committee. The venue was great from professional and social perspectives. The Conference was our 50th and we were graced with the presence of seven of the original members of the society – Harold Bell, Peter Druce, Malcolm Hill, Roger Mauldon, Warren Musgrave, John Phillips, and Bob Thomas. They all attended the Conference Dinner, some accompanied by wives (and Christine Hill, Malcolm’s daughter), where Warren Musgrave proposed a toast to AARES and John Phillips gave the dinner address – both with great eloquence. Bob Thomas attended most of the Conference and his unflagging inquisitiveness was an inspiration. We congratulate again Alan Randall, Vic Wright and Ron Duncan who became Distinguished Fellows of AARES. The conference was opened by the Governor of NSW, Professor Marie Bashir who identified with Ross Kingwell’s reference to Hanrahan. She grew up in Narrandera and knew John O’Brien.
Thanks again to our premier sponsors, NSW DPI and NSW Premier’s, to our principal sponsors, DAFF, ABARE, ACIAR, RIRDC, PC, LWA, GRDC and URS and to our associate sponsors, University of Sydney, MDBC and CSIRO. Sponsorship of our conference facilitates the invited speaker program at our conference, ensures its financial success and contributes to the financial stability of AARES.
My thanks to the Invited Speakers and to all those who gave contributed papers. It was a most stimulating conference for all of us. During the Conference Cheryl Kalisch moderated a session with young and not so young professionals enquiring into how the services offered by AARES are presently viewed and where they might be improved. I think the most important lesson for me was that we take for granted that it is easy for new members to fully participate in AARES. Since the Conference I have written to all new members informing them of how and where to get access to the services provided by the Society. At the start of our conference in future we plan to have a welcoming session for those new to the Conference to explain how the Conference works and to introduce them to members of the Society with similar interests.
Our next conference is at Queenstown, NZ – sounds like a brilliant venue again. Ross Cullen heads up the Local Organising Committee. John Rolfe has suggested Rockhampton as the venue for the 2008 conference but Federal Council is also approaching the ACT and SA Branches for their interest.
August 12 - 18 AARES is helping to host the triennial conference of the International Agricultural Economics Association on the Gold Coast. The local organising committee is being led by Julian Alston, Phil Pardey and Mal Wegener. Already in terms of the numbers of contributed papers submitted, there is unprecedented interest in this conference and we encourage members of AARES to provide a strong Australian presence at this important international conference. AARES is providing up to 20 fellowships to support attendance at the Conference. ABARE is organising a conference session on the Australian and NZ agriculture and resource sectors and the annual AARES symposium will be held in conjunction with the Conference with a focus on water economics. Conference registration is now open with early bird registration available until June 10. Information about the conference can be found by following links from the AARES website. See you there.
I’d like to welcome Alan Rae as President Elect. Alan will be responsible for the Invited Speakers program at Queenstown. I’d like to thank Deb Peterson for the conscientious and graceful way she undertook her duties as President during 2005. We say farewell and thanks to Jeff Bennett for his time on Federal Council. Thanks are due to the other members of the Executive, Branch Councillors and to Annie Hurst, who runs our central office at ANU. Thanks are also due to those who serve the Society on prize giving committees and Branch Councils.
Unfortunately two of our hardest working people, Tennille Graham as Secretary and Lili Pechey as Manager, Promotion and Development have to step down. Most of you are aware that Tennille’s very young daughter Abigail has been suffering fits since our Manly conference. Tenille reports that she and James are confident in managing Abbey now but the road to full recovery is a long one and she needs to devote all her attention to Abbey. We wish Tennille and her family all the very best. Lili has changed jobs, changed towns and is pursuing postgraduate study, so life is pretty exciting for her at present. We wish her well and thank her and Tennille for their very valuable contributions over the last few years.
Of course this means we are looking for a Secretary and a Manager, Promotion and Development. The pay is great, the travel opportunities and the company are fantastic so please respond to the job ads featured below.
After a long gestation period, we have finally made arrangements to have the back issues of the AJAE and RMAE digitised and made available on the web later in the year. Thanks to David Pannell.
An important task in the year ahead is to appoint an editorial team for AJARE to take over from Bob Lindner, Ross Kingwell and David Pannell for the 2008 – 2010 issues of the Journal. There is a call for Expressions of Interest below.
The pace in 2006 doesn’t seem to be slackening
Tennille Graham has been our very enthusiastic and skilful secretary for the last couple of years. Unfortunately Tennille’s baby daughter has become seriously ill and Tennille is stepping down. We thank Tennille for all her efforts and we wish Tennille, James and Abigail a speedy return to the normal life young families should lead.
The Society is calling for nominations to fill this very important position. Key responsibilities of the position include:
- At the four Federal Council meetings each year and the AGM :
o Prepare an agenda
o Table a Secretary’s Report
o Prepare and distribute minutes
- Facilitate the PhD and Masters Awards by writing to Australian and New Zealand universities inviting them to submit theses and subsequently to liaise with the PhD and Masters Committees
- Liaise with the Heading North/South Committees to facilitate the Heading North/South Young Professionals Exchange Travel Awards
- Liaise with Branch Secretaries to facilitate the Undergraduate Awards
- Prepare certificates for all prize winners to be presented at the Annual Conference Dinner
- As Returning Officer for the President-Elect ballots, count the votes
This is a great opportunity to become involved with the Society and to share in shaping its future.
Please contact AARES central office manager, Annie Hurst (aares@anu.edu.au) to make a nomination for the position before May 21, 2006. For more information ring John Mullen on 0263 913608.
The Society is looking for a new person to fill the (very small shoes (Lili Pechey, Pers. comm..)) of Lili Pechey who is reluctantly resigning from the position to focus on the joys of postgraduate study.
Key responsibilities of this Executive position on the federal council include:
This position is a great opportunity to become involved within the Society and to share in shaping its future.
Please contact AARES central office manager, Annie Hurst (aares@anu.edu.au) to make a nomination for the position, before the 21st May 2006. More Information can be had from John Mullen (0263 913608) or Lili Pechey (0408748749)
In this report, I will provide an overview of the state of our Society and review our major activities during the year, including some of the new initiatives. Many of the issues addressed in this report have been described in more detail in News and Views during the year, and are covered in the reports of other Office Bearers at this AGM.
Overview of the State of the Society
The Society is in a strong position in terms of its finances with generous cash balances relative to our normal expenditures and financial risk. Our net income has remained around $47 000, despite an apparent decline in membership from 657 to 533 people between 2004 and 2005.
The increase in gross income from $115 000 in 2004 to $142 000 in 2005 is mainly attributable to increased income from subscriptions which rose from around $53 000 to nearly $85 000(About a third of this (paid in April 2005) represents royalties outstanding for 2004, with the remainder (paid 6th June 2005) being an advance on royalties based on budgeted 2005 membership), and a large surplus from the Annual Conference held at Coffs Harbour .
Our expenses (around $95 000) exceed income from AJARE subscriptions. However, we are now regularly earning a surplus from our annual conferences and symposia (see below), The annual conference alone contributed around 30 per cent of our 2005 income (final accounts from the symposium held in Perth are not yet available, but a small surplus was achieved). In the last three years we have also earned $10 000 to $13 000 from interest bearing accounts, advertising and CD sales.
Net surplus from conferences and symposia ($)
2005 2004 2003 2002
Annual conference 43 336 48 367 24 86l 23 527
Symposium na 1 415 18 943 7 980
Our expenditures increased from $68 000 in 2004 to $95 000 in 2005 About 40 per cent of this is due to the timing of the 2004 branch payments, which were paid in 2005 – in other words, there were two years of branch payments in the 2005 accounts. Some of the increase was related to strategic decisions to support and promote professional activities (see below) as a service to existing members and in expectation that such expenditure will pay off in the longer term through retained and new membership. Expenditures on the AARES Central Office increased, reflecting the Society's growth to a larger business with increasing complexity in its arrangements. Another factor was slightly higher annual conference expenses in 2005.
Over time, our expenditures are increasing as our operating environment changes: employers, for example, are less willing to subsidize the Society's activities by providing air fares for Council members to attend Council meetings, or to cover postage and incidentals. In other words, the cost of running the Society is becoming more transparent.
As noted above and in the report of the Manager of Promotion and Development, membership records as at 21 December indicate a decline in members, although we are seeing signs of growth in some branches. However, these numbers do not include new members (around 90) who subscribed at the Perth and Canberra Symposia, and the E-CReW conference. These people will receive membership for the 2006 calendar year.
Trends in our underlying (long term) membership are masked by the effect of people who are non-members automatically receiving membership when they attend a conference or symposium. Many of these people do not renew their membership. We could, for example, be holding steady or even growing in terms of long term members but have a varying number of non-members attending the conference, with numbers depending on location (among other factors). We need careful analysis of our records over a number of years to reveal the true story. Such analysis would also help us monitor the effectiveness of promotional activities involving free membership.
Membership on an calendar year basis poses some issues for promotional strategies and pricing structures of events held later in the year. Council will explore the possibility of membership renewal on an `any time start' basis, which means membership would be for a year from the time of joining.
New initiatives and promotional activities
This year saw the introduction of a number of new initiatives and promotional activities. Examples include:
- Providing up to 20 fellowships to the value of A$850 for members to attend the upcoming IAAE conference. This move was echoed by a number of branches who also agreed to sponsor member attendance.
- Co-sponsoring an Environmental and Resource Economics Early Career Researcher Workshop (E-CReW) held at Charles Sturt University in October. This workshop involved participants giving a presentation on their work-in-progress research and receiving feedback from a number of mentors.
- Introducing three new prizes: the Quality of Communication Award (for superior communication of concepts or knowledge in agricultural and resource economics); the Quality of Research Discovery Award (for significant contribution to the field of knowledge in agricultural and resource economics) and an award for the best Connections article. These prizes will be awarded for the first time in 2006.
- Establishing an agreement through Laurian Unevehr, the President of the American Agricultural Economics Association (AAEA) in 2004-05, for AARES to host an Organised Symposium each year at the AAEA meetings (with no cost to AARES). The aim of this arrangement is to raise awareness among US agricultural and resource economists of AARES and issues relating to agricultural and natural resources in Australia and New Zealand.
- Encouraging branches to increase their services to members with success evident in the growth in activity of some branches compared with previous years
Key events on 2005
A number of successful events were hosted by the Society in 2005. The year began with the Annual Conference, held in Coffs Harbour and hosted by the New England Branch. The conference was a tremendous success in terms of its contribution to the Society’s income and its contribution to members’ professional development and social enjoyment. The inaugural AARES Organised Symposium was held at the AAEA meetings in Providence, Rhode Island in July. The symposium stimulated on-going exchanges of ideas and information between participants. The 2005 AARES National Symposium was held in Perth in September. The subject of the symposium, water policy, was very topical and the symposium was well attended. The ACT branch displayed initiative and hosted a symposium in November on 'New horizons in market based instruments', featuring experts from both Australia and overseas, Thanks to the many people involved in running these excellent events.
Future events
We look forward to the International Agricultural Economics Association (IAAE) conference on 12 – 18 August, to be held on the Gold Coast in Queensland. The conference is being co-hosted by AARES and the IAAE, with an agreement to share equally in any surpluses or deficits associated with the conference. The agreed budget's breakeven point was based on 700 registered delegates (around 820 total attendees). The organising committee, led by Julian Alston, Phil Pardey and Mal Wegener, report considerable success in attracting sponsorship. A total of 840 contributed papers were submitted, the highest number of submissions ever received for an IAAE Conference. As well as offering important professional opportunities for AARES members, indications are that the conference will be a financial success for the Society.
Arrangements are already underway for the Society’s next Annual Conference which will be held in Queenstown, New Zealand on 7 – 9 February. The organising committee comprises Ross Cullen, Richard Lynch, and Katie Bicknell, with Allan Rae putting together the conference programme.
I hope that members will take advantage of both of these opportunities to present their research, exchange ideas and share a few beers with their colleagues in Australia, New Zealand and other parts of the world.
Taking care of business
A subcommittee headed by Bob Farquharson has been looking at ways to improve our website. A new domain name, www.aares.info, has been registered and the new site will be ready shortly. The committee are investigating redesigning the website appearance and structure; hosting the members' directory; allowing access to AJARE through the website; and the possibility of holding Society Presidential elections online and payment of membership fees in a secure area of the website. There will also be an area for branches to provide information to members. The committee is conscious of the need to consider the skills required and costs of setting up and maintaining the site. Thanks to Bob and the committee members, Atakelty Hailu, Felicity Flugge, Fiona Scott and Lili Pechey, for their endeavours in this area.
Through Blackwells Publishing, we have secured an arrangement to offer three year membership and processing of membership by direct debit in 2006. Provision of past volumes of the Australian Journal of Agricultural Economics and the Review of Marketing and Agricultural Economics on-line on an open-access basis is under investigation.
One area I have focused on during the past year has been our governance arrangements. To aid transparency and accountability of our expenditures, financial delegations arrangements were established. Reports of expenditures approved outside of Council meetings are required to be made at the next Council meeting, giving details of the amount paid, who to, and reason for payment.
A policy related to funding of travel for Council members to attend meetings was developed and approved, and the Treasurer will itemise by name in reports to Council and the AGM all costs of attending Council meetings, all honoraria, and all meal costs associated with Council meetings.
Doubt has been raised over the tax status of our Society, and we were pleased to receive a ruling from the Australian Tax Office clarifying that we are exempt from income tax as an association not carried on for the purpose of profit or gain of its individual members established for the purpose of promoting the development of an Australian resource in accordance with section 50-40 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. Many thanks to Glenn Ronan for pursuing this issue.
Council has been reviewing the duties of various positions, including those of the Federal Treasurer, Central Office Manager and Manager, Promotion and Development, seeking improved work arrangements. The potential to re-introduce a ‘Business Manager’ position is being discussed.
As an input to our strategic planning, at the start of each financial year, the Treasurer will prepare a budget for approval by the Council. Expenditures must be made within budget or within an agreed variation to the budget, previously approved by Council. We should be working towards longer term strategic planning that integrates services (our products, including conferences, symposia, AJARE, Connections, and branch activities), promotional activities, price of our products and place of operation (whether this be physical location of meetings or operation through the internet).
Looking ahead, key factors influencing the financial outlook in the next couple of years include the success of our Annual conferences and Symposia, the success of the IAAE conference, trends in membership and readership of AJARE. Work remains to be done in tidying our business arrangements, including reviewing our Policy File, looking closely at how we handle subscriptions and analysing membership data. We would also benefit from a better understanding of our insurance coverage. These matters, along with strategies to enhance service to members and promotion, are items on Council's agenda for 2006.
Acknowledgements
Throughout the year I have received invaluable support from many people. I would like to thank all those on Federal Council and the Local Organising Committees for our Annual Conferences and Symposia (Perth and Canberra) for their enthusiasm and hard work. I would like to give special thanks to Julian Alston for his advice and assistance on a wide range of matters, and for his enormous contribution, along with Phil Pardey and Mal Wegener, in organising the IAAE conference. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the significant contribution of Annie Hurst in the business office, and Glenn Ronan for taking on the challenging role of Treasurer and upgrading our capacity to manage our financial affairs efficiently.
Activities of the Society during 2005
1. Council of the Society
The 2005 Annual General Meeting was held on 10 February at the Novotel Pacific Bay Resort, Coffs Harbour. At the meeting, the following office bearers were elected:
President: Deborah Peterson (via earlier ballot)
President Elect: John Mullen
Secretary: Tennille Graham
Treasurer: Mal Wegener for part of year, after which Glenn Ronan was instated by Executive Council.
Manager Promotion and Development: Lili Pechey
Editor, News and Views: Richard Reeve
Jeff Bennett automatically assumed membership of Council on becoming Immediate Past President.Bob Lindner is the member of the Executive Council representing the Editors of AJARE.
During 2005, the following members represented their Branches at Council meetings:
Australian Capital Territory: Jeff Bennett, Lili Pechey
New England: Bob Farquharson
New South Wales: John Maddon, John Mullen
New Zealand: Frank Scrimgeour, Ross Cullen
North America: Thomas Marsh, Julian Alston
Queensland: Mal Wegener, George Antony
South Australia: Glenn Ronan
Victoria : Gavan Dwyer
Western Australia: Bob Lindner
2. Business of Council
Council met five times since the last AGM: 11 February 2005, 5 May 2005, 21 September 2005, 1 February 2006 (phone meeting of Executive Council) and 7 February 2006.
Some of the prominent matters considered by Council in 2005 were:
· The 2005 (Coffs Harbour), 2006 (Sydney), 2007 (New Zealand) AARES Annual Conferences
· The 8th Annual AARES Symposium held in Perth entitled ‘Water Markets: Prospects for WA’. Organised by Donna Brennan, Michael Burton and Sally Harvey
· The AARES Symposium held in Canberra entitled New Horizons in Market Based Instruments and was organised by Stuart Whitten (CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems), with assistance from Anthea Coggan, Famiza Yunus and Mandy Yialeloglou
· IAAE 2006 Conference
· Developing closer links with economists in New Zealand and Australia
· Financial management of the Society
· Society promotion and development
· AARES Website
3. Committees
The following members were appointed to committees of the Society in 2005:
PhD Thesis Award Panel: Steve Schilizzi (chair), Robyn Hean and Quentin Grafton
Masters Thesis Award Panel: Sarah Lumley (chair), Mark Morrison and Frank Scrimgeour
4. Branch Activities
Branch office bearers listed are those as at 31 December 2005.
President: John Kerin
Treasurer: Andrew Jacenko
Secretary: Brenda Dyack
Councillor: Jeff Bennett, Lili Pechey
Seminars held in 2005
|
Date |
Presenter |
Topic |
|
Wednesday, 27th April |
Thilak Mallawaarachchi, Ph.D., Senior Policy Officer at the Natural Resource Management Division of DAFF . |
Modelling water allocation in the Murray Darling Basin: incorporating uncertainty using the state-contingent approach |
|
Wednesday 20th July |
Alex McMillan (Executive Director) and Di Bentley (Assistant Commissioner), NSW Natural Resources Commission |
'Natural Resource Management: matters for targets?' |
|
Wednesday, August 3rd 2005 |
Dr Brian Fisher, Executive Director, ABARE. |
Topic: 'The state of the agricultural economics profession' |
|
Wednesday, September 14th |
David Trebeck member of the Agriculture and Food Policy Reference Group, preparing a report for the Agriculture Minister. Founder of ACIL Tasman) |
‘White Paper on the Future of Agriculture’ - The issues, the process and the state of play |
|
Tuesday October 18th |
David Pearce, CIE |
Planning for future ACT water supplies - The role of Economic Benefit-Cost Analysis |
|
December 20th |
Kym Anderson and Will Martin |
Agricultural Trade Reform and the Doha Development Agenda |
Other branch activities
7 Meetings including the AGM August 3rd in addition to the Seminars listed above.
Symposium summary:
Location: CSIRO Discovery Centre CSIRO Black Mountain Canberra
Dates: 11th November 2005
Organising structure: Stuart Whitten (CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems), with assistance from Anthea Coggan, Famiza Yunus and Mandy Yialeloglou
Key numbers from the Symposium:
|
Total number of delegates to the symposium |
|
|
8 |
Speakers at the symposium |
|
3 |
Sponsors who helped us to achieve the goals of the symposium. |
Christmas Social
In conjunction with the December 20th Seminar, joint with the Economics Society with approximately 50 attending.
Undergrad Prize Winner – 2005
Hugh Rex Green
New England
President Christie Chang
Treasurer Garry Griffith
Secretary Fiona Scott
Councillor Bob Farquharson
President-Elect Terence Farrell
Meetings held in 2005
|
Date |
Presenter |
Topic |
|
22 March 2005 |
Dr Kef Mekonnen, (winner of the AARES 2005 PhD Prize) |
"The economics of developing water resource projects in the Ethiopian Nile River Basin, their environmental, and transboundary implications" |
|
9 August 2005 |
Dr Janaki Alavalapati Associate Professor School of Forest Resources and Conservation University of Florida, USA |
“Economics of Enhancing Biodiversity on Private Forests” |
Other branch activities
The branch hosted the AARES annual conference in Coffs Harbour, NSW on February 9th-11th 2005 at the Novotel Pacific Bay Resort.
The New England Branch AGM was held on 22nd March 2005, at which the above office bearers were elected.
A branch lunch and dinner was held on May 19, 2005, in association with the UNE-sponsored inaugural Jack Makeham Memorial lecture. Bill Malcolm presented the well-attended lecture at UNE, Armidale, entitled “Makeham Farm Management”.
New South Wales
President Tihomir Ancev
Treasurer David Buckland
Secretary Matt Arthur
Councillor John Madden
|
Date |
Presenter |
Topic |
|
17 March |
Dr Michael Harris |
Pigou and Coase Re-visited: Ethics, Norms and Markets – Implications for Environmental and Resource Economics. |
|
11 August |
Jason Crean |
Seasonal climate forecasts as an agricultural innovation. |
|
6 October |
Lili Peachey |
Third-party effects of water trading and potential policy responses. |
|
8 December |
Mick Keogh |
Agricultural economists - Defending the sector, or defending the orthodoxy? |
The NSW Branch members have been responsible for the organisation of the 2006 Annual Conference via the Local Organising Committee.
Local Organising Committee members and their respective roles are listed below:
§ John Madden – Chair of Committee
§ Matt Arthur – Committee Secretary
§ David Buckland – Treasurer
§ Jason Crean – Contributed papers
§ John Mullen – Invited speakers
§ Emily Gray, Naushee Rahman, Jarrod Greenville – social committee
§ Tiho Ancev – NSW Branch President
§ Michael Harris
§ Lily Pechey (ACT Branch Member) – Conference sponsorship
Three LOC meetings have been held over the year, prior to the general NSW Brach meetings, to determine the conference venue, social event and program. The selected venue is the Manly Pacific Hotel, Sydney. The social event to be held on Thursday 9th February will be at the historic Quarantine Station at North Head, Manly.
Further details regarding the 2006 Conference can be found on the AARES website.
Queensland
President John Rolfe
Treasurer Ryan Daley
Secretary George Antony
Councillor Malcolm Wegener
Meetings held in 2005
|
Date |
Presenter |
Topic |
|
2 March |
|
AGM |
|
5 September |
|
Qld Branch revival discussion |
|
27 October |
|
Extraordinary General Meeting and election of office bearers for 2005-2006 |
|
15 November |
Fabio Queiroz |
Ethanol and the sugar industry |
Other branch activities
Co-sponsorship of the Ecosystem Services Workshop, held on 7 October 2005 in Brisbane, organized by the Office of Urban Management (a section of the Qld Department of Local Government, Planning, Sport and Recreation).6 Qld AARES members took part in the workshop.
Co-sponsorship of the AGSIP Resource Economics Workshop ’Identifying Production – Environment Tradeoffs at the Farm Level’, held on 28 October 2005 at the Central Queensland University, Rockhampton. 10 AARES members took part in the workshop.
South Australia
President John Ward
Treasurer Matthew Ferris
Secretary Jack Langberg
Councillor Glenn Ronan
Meetings held in 2005
|
Date |
Presenter |
Topic |
|
18/10/05 |
Mike Young & Jim McColl |
"Contemporary Water Reform Policy in Australia" |
The following is an extract from the 2005 Annual General Meeting minutes describing the concern over lack of activities within the SA Branch and some alternatives to overcome this.
“At the last meeting there was discussion about making the SA Branch more active. It was reported from the National AARES Executive that the recent Victorian experience where informal lunchtime meetings had lifted enthusiasm and resulted in an improved level of Branch activity. This new format recognised the difficulties of people not necessarily being able to attend evening functions. It was also noted that making meetings less formal may result in boosting new and younger membership in the Branch.
In the general discussion, there was consensus that future SA Branch activities experiment with a mix of lunchtime and evening, and formal and informal, functions to capture different peoples' availability to attend.
Jack Langberg (continuing Secretary) and Thea Mech (former President) observed that a barrier to more meetings had been finding suitable speakers and that when a speaker was found, then invariably there had been a respectable attendance at meetings. John Ward (new President) noted that a number of visiting economists to CSIRO would provide the Branch with good 'speaker options' over the coming year.”
President Gavan Dwyer
Treasurer Dave Appels
Secretary Dave Appels
Councillor Gavan Dwyer
Meetings held in 2005
|
Date |
Presenter |
Topic |
|
3/11/05 |
Dan Armstrong |
Dairy farm productivity - a long term case study |
|
4/10/05 |
John Freebairn |
Early days with water markets |
|
1/9/05 |
Donald MacLaren |
The agricultural trade negotiations in the Doha Round: Are they going anywhere? |
|
4/8/05 |
Gary Stoneham |
Economics Issues in Biosecurity |
|
7/7/05 |
Jo Chong |
IUCN experiences |
|
2/6/05 |
Bill Malcolm |
Makeham Farm Management |
|
5/5/05 |
Arthur Ha |
Incentives, Information & Drought Policy |
|
31/3/05 |
Rhonda Smith |
Market power in the grocery industry |
|
18/3/05 |
Geoff Edwards & Bill Malcolm |
Fellows Dinner to honour Neil Sturgess |
|
24/2/05 |
Geraldine Gentle |
Applying resource economics - theory and practice |
Note: AGM scheduled for 1/12/05
Other branch activities
¾ Financial contribution and organisation of Fellows Dinner to honour career and achievements of Neil Sturgess.
¾ One candidate already received for undergraduate award.
¾ Branch is offering four fellowships of $500 to support Victorian members to attend either AARES 2006, or IAAE 2006.
¾ Follow-up of lapsed and prospective members.
Western Australia
President Dr Johanna Pluske
Treasurer Associate Professor Michael Burton
Secretary Ms Sallyann Harvey
Councillor Professor Robert Lindner
Meetings held in 2005
The Annual General Meeting was held on the 5th of August 2005 following the annual presidential address given by Donna Brennan.
8th Annual AARES Symposium
The WA branch hosted the 8th Annual AARES Symposium in Perth on the 23rd of September in conjunction with a Workshop on the 22nd of September. The Symposium was entitled ‘Water Markets: Prospects for WA’ and featured international and national speakers with experience in water market reform. Organising committee of Donna Brennan, Michael Burton and Sally Harvey
Other branch activities
Joint seminar program with the University of Western Australia’s School of Agricultural and Resource Economics, convened in 2005 by Dr Johanna Pluske and Dr Rick Lewellyn:
|
Date |
Presenter |
Topic |
|
March 4 |
Richard Reeve |
The economics of surface water management in rural WA towns - Analysing options using cost benefit analysis |
|
March 18 |
Alex Lobb (University of Reading) |
Food risk communication and consumers’ trust in the food supply chain |
|
April 8 |
Pham Thi Ngoc Linh |
Impact of globalization on the livestock sector in Vietnam |
|
April 15 |
Anne Bennett and Ross George (Department of Premier and Cabinet; Department of Agriculture) |
Greenhouse and climate change in agriculture |
|
April 22 |
Donna Brennan (also with CSIRO) |
Modelling agricultural supply response in Vietnam using GIS and positive mathematical programming |
|
April 29 |
Michael Burton and Jo Pluske |
Making decisions in water management |
|
May 6 |
Rosh Ireland |
Greenhouse policy in Western Australia |
|
May 13 |
Steve Schilizzi |
TBA |
|
May 20 |
Sally Marsh |
Modelling the economics associated with the loss of glyphosate as a weed control resource: conceptual issues |
|
May 27 |
Brad Plunkett (Economist, Department of Agriculture WA) |
The portfolio problem in agricultural cooperatives - An integrated framework |
|
June 3 |
Graeme Doole |
A bioeconomic model for terrestrial wildlife at threat of extinction with an application to the African elephant. |
|
|