Newsletter of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society Inc.

Volume 17, Number 1, April 2005

CONTENTS

President’s Column

Reports to the 2004 Annual General Meeting

   President’s Report

   Secretary’s Report

   Treasurer’s Report

   AJARE Editors’ Report

   Manager – Promotion and Development’s Report

IAAE 2006

Noticeboard

Contact Details for Office Bearers and Central Office

Deadline and Advertising

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

By Deb Peterson

The Conference in Coffs Harbour in February hosted by the New England Branch provided a tremendous start to 2005. The conference featured excellent papers, stimulating discussion and learning – not to say anything about the fun social events and glorious setting! Thanks goes to the Local Organising Committee (Oscar Cacho, Christie Chang, Miriam East, Bob Farquharson, Terence Farrell, Euan Fleming, Garry Griffith, Robyn Hean, Stuart Mounter, Roley Piggott, Fiona Scott, and Russell Wise) for organising such a memorable conference. The conference also featured two workshops, one on Salinity (organised by Robyn Hean and David Pannell), and the other on ‘Trade Policy Reform in Agriculture’ (organised by Julian Alston, John O’Connor and Deborah Peterson), both of which were highly successful.

The contribution of Jeff Bennett as President of the Society in 2004 is widely recognised and greatly appreciated. In the tradition of our Society, Jeff remains on Council as Immediate Past President. Council sadly said to farewell Bill Malcolm, who concluded his time on Council as President-Elect, President and Immediate past President. Congratulations to John Mullen, who is beginning his term as President Elect.

Council said farewell to Liz Peterson, who capably served the Society as Federal Secretary for three years, but welcomed Tenille Graham as the new Secretary. Other changes include web site duties being taken over by Felicity Flugge while Atakelty Hailu is on leave (thank you Felicity!). Annie Hurst in the Central Office is also likely to play a greater role in maintenance and development of the website in the future. A subcommittee lead by Bob Farquharson (including Lili Pechey, our Manager of Promotion and Development) is taking a look at ways we can improve our site.

Looking forward to 2005 and beyond, the agenda is bright. Main items include:

• the Society's Conference in Sydney in 2006, where we will celebrate our 50^th Anniversary
• a symposium on water to be held in Perth in September

• the International Agricultural Economics Association (IAAE) Conference to be held on the Gold Coast in August 2006

I hope you have these events earmarked in your diaries.

I expect my areas of focus this year to be on increasing membership, strengthening our links with international societies, contributing to the development of the IAAE conference and, where possible, improving the management of the Society’s business arrangements. Some of the initiatives Council is exploring include adding ‘Heading East and West’ awards to encourage travel between New Zealand and Australia, multiple-year membership and direct debit renewals facilities. I am pleased to report that AARES has been offered the opportunity to host a regular Organised Symposium at the American Agricultural Economics Association Annual meetings.

As the year moves along, I would welcome communication with you. Email me at dpeterson@pc.gov.au, or give me a call on 03 9653 2284 if you have any ideas or issues that you would like to raise.

REPORTS TO THE 2005 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

President’s Report, by Deb Peterson

2004 was a year of considerable activity for the AARES Federal Council and this was representative of the energy and drive apparent in the Society as a whole. Our Journal continues to play a leading role internationally for the profession; our conferences and symposia go from strength to strength and the majority of our branches maintain active programmes of events for their members. A number of key issues have been at the forefront of Council’s deliberations during the year and I’ll take this opportunity to highlight them for members noting that many of these issues have been the subject of more detailed consideration in News and Views through the year and are dealt with in the reports of other office bearers at this AGM.

The Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics

The contract with Blackwell to publish the Journal was successfully renegotiated during the year. Members will note a number of changes resulting from those negotiations that will take effect from the first issue of Volume 49. First, there will be some minor changes to the format of the Journal designed to reduce the production costs whilst having minimal impact on readability. Second, John Mullen and Chris O’Donnell have been replaced as editors by the WA-based team of Bob Lindner, Dave Pannell and Ross Kingwell. Third, the Journal has shifted to electronic submission and article management. Finally, the editorial office function has become a component of the contract with Blackwell. Collectively, we owe a vote of thanks to John and Chris – and their team of Associate Editors and Book Review Editors – for their role in maintaining and building the strength of the Journal through the period of their editorship. We are also indebted to Bob, Dave and Ross for taking on the role, particularly given the additional challenges posed by the transition to electronic article management. It’s also important that we acknowledge the contribution made by Honey Greenwood, who managed the editorial office at UNE for the John and Chris’s reign as editors.

2004 Events

The 2004 Annual Conference, held in Melbourne, was a remarkable success from all angles – professionally, socially and, for the Society, financially. The Society’s healthy financial position is to a large degree due to the efforts and competencies of our conference Local Organising Committees, The LOC led by Mark Eigenraam and Charlotte Duke is no exception. Similarly, the 2004 Annual Symposium, held in Auckland and organized by the New Zealand Branch with Frank Scrimgeour, Geoff Kerr and Pamela Kaval in the lead provided a great opportunity for Society members to tackle complex and interesting concepts and practicalities in a convivial, supportive environment. Both events set new and higher standards of excellence. Already the 2005 Annual Conference is giving every indication that it will continue this trend and our thanks are extended to Gary Griffith and Bob Farquharson and the rest of the UNE branch LOC.

Future events

Much of the Federal Council’s deliberations over the year were focused on the planning for events scheduled for 2006...notably the AARES Annual Conference and Symposium and the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) Triennial Conference. Members will recall that our Society made an offer to host the IAAE Conference scheduled for August 2006. The position reached by the Council is that the 50th Annual AARES Conference will be hosted by the NSW Branch and held in Sydney during February 2006 with the Annual Symposium for the year being folded into the IAAE Conference in August. To avoid further ‘crowding out’ of the IAAE Conference, it has been agreed that our 2006 Annual Conference will not involve any associated workshops. The Federal Council was delighted to receive acceptances from Julian Alston and Phil Pardy as joint chairs of the Local Organising Committee for the IAAE Conference. With Mal Wegener taking on the Deputy Chair role and the ‘on-site’ chief, we have a strong team in place. Good progress is being made toward securing sponsorship for the conference and we are now confident that the Society can stage a first class event on a strong financial footing.

Central Office

With the rearrangements of the editorial office, changes have also been made to the location and staffing of the Central Office. Annie Hurst has been a very efficient and willing Central Office Manager for the past 6 months, based at the ANU in the Asia Pacific School of Economics and Government, working half a day each week. Annie has attended a course on website management with the goal of her being able to provide effective assistance to Felicity Flugge from the WA Branch who has been managing the AARES web-site.

People

The support I have received from members of the Council throughout the year has been invaluable. I’d like to thank them, particularly those in the Executive, for their hard work and commitment to the Society. Some members of the team are stepping aside at this meeting and I’d like to single them out for their efforts. Liz Petersen as Secretary has been ever reliable and always helpful. Tracy Henderson as Editor of News and Views has done a great job in a very important position – always ensuring the necessary contributions are in on time for publication. I’d also like to thank Frank Scrimgeour and Geoff Kerr from the NZ branch for their efforts – beyond the organization of the Annual Symposium in Auckland – in helping me in efforts to promote stronger integration of the NZ Branch into the Society ensuring that members on both sides of the Tasman benefit through professional contact. My view is that AARES will be stronger for such closer ties and should also be looking to extend those linkages to the growing number of skilled agricultural and resource economists working in the wider Asia Pacific region.

Secretary’s Report, by Liz Petersen

Activities of the Society during 2004

1. Council of the Society

The 2004 Annual General Meeting was held on 12 February at the Sheraton Hotel, Melbourne. At the meeting, the following office bearers were elected:

President:                                             Jeff Bennett (via earlier ballot)
President Elect:                                     Deborah Peterson (via earlier ballot)

Secretary:                                             Elizabeth Petersen
Treasurer:                                              Mal Wegener
Manager Promotion and Development:     Lili Pechey

Editor, News and Views:                         Tracy Henderson

Bill Malcolm automatically assumed membership of Council on becoming Immediate Past President. The WA Editorial team (including Bob Lindner, David Pannell and Ross Kingwell) with Blackwell’s administration was elected as the new AJARE editors, with one vote in opposition. Bob Lindner is the member of the Executive Council representing AJARE.

During 2004, the following members represented their Branches at Council meetings:

Australian Capital Territory:         Jeff Bennett
New England:                      Bob Farquharson, Garry Griffith
New South Wales:               Jason Crean, John Mullen
New Zealand:                       Frank Scrimgeour
North America:                    Julian Alston

Queensland:                        Mal Wegener, George Antony
South Australia:                   Thea Mech
Victoria:                              Bill Malcolm, Deborah Peterson, Gavan Dwyer
Western Australia:               Atakelty Hailu, Ross Kingwell, Bob Lindner

2. Business of Council

Council met four times since the last AGM: 13 February 2004, 7 May 2004, 6 October 2004 and 7 February 2005.

Some of the prominent matters considered by Council in 2004 were:

·         The 2004 (Melbourne), 2005 (Coffs Harbour), 2006 (Sydney) and 2007 conferences

·         The 2006 Annual Conference of the International Association of Agricultural Economists to be held in Brisbane

·         The Annual Symposium held in New Zealand 7 October 2004

·         Developing closer links with economists in New Zealand and Australia

·         Signing a new contract with Blackwell Publishing

·         Financial management of the Society

·         Conference sponsorship

3. Committees

The following members were appointed to committees of the Society in 2004:

PhD Thesis Award Panel:                       Robyn Hean (chair), Kevin Parton, and Steve Schilizzi

Masters Thesis Award Panel:                  Mark Morrison (chair), Michael Burton, and Sarah Lumley

4. Branch Activities

Branch office bearers listed are those as at 31 December 2004.

Australian Capital Territory

President          John Kerin
Treasurer           Michael Potter
Secretary          Brenda Dyack
Councillor          Martin van Bueren

Meetings held in 2004

Other branch activities

The Branch held regular meetings, approximately fortnightly, to plan events and promote the Society.  The focus has been on encouraging participation from all 95 Branch Members.  Over 30 people generally attend seminars with joint sessions with ABARE, for example, being popular.   The Committee has discussed the importance of the Branch members in the nation’s capital to use our professional expertise to raise policy issues and provide input to national issues.

New England

President          Bob Farquharson
Treasurer          Garry Griffith
Secretary          Robyn Hean
Councillor          Bob Farquharson

Meetings held in 2004

Other branch activities

The Branch is organising the AARES 2005 Conference to be held in Coffs Harbour from 8-11 February 2005. Local Organising Committee meetings have been held on 18 May, 30 June, 12 August, 26-27 August (including a visit to Coffs Harbour), 17 September, 22 October, 24 November and 10 December.

New South Wales

President          John Madden
Treasurer           David Buckland
Secretary          Dr Inderpal Singh
Councillor          Jason Crean

Meetings held in 2004

Queensland

President          David Marchant
Treasurer           Vacant
Secretary          Tracy Henderson
Councillor          George Antony

Meetings held in 2004

South Australia

President:         Thea Mech
Secretary:         Jack Langberg
Treasurer:          Julian Morison
Committee:       Ian Cooper, Mandy Wallace, Kym Jervois

Meetings held in 2004

Victoria

President          Gavan Dwyer
Treasurer           David Appels
Secretary          David Appels

Councillor          Chris Wilcox, Michael O’Connell

Meetings held in 2004

Other branch activities

Regular lunch get-togethers are held on the last Wednesday of every month. Gavan Dwyer (president) attended NZ Symposium and the branch paid for his airfare only.

Western Australia

President          Dr Donna Brennan
Treasurer           Associate Professor Michael Burton
Secretary          Ms Sallyann Harvey
Councillor          Professor Robert Lindner

Meetings held in 2004

Joint seminar program with the University of Western Australia’s School of Agricultural and Resource Economics, convened in 2004 by Dr Jo Pluske:

*Presenters are members of the School of Agricultural and Resource Economics, UWA, unless specified otherwise

New Zealand Branch

President          Frank Scrimgeour, University of Waikato
Treasurer           Phil Journeaux, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Secretary          Sarah Mackay, Environment Waikato
Councillor          Frank Scrimgeour, University of Waikato

Meetings held in 2004

Other branch activities

2004 Conference

The New Zealand branch held its winter conference at the Blenhein Country Hotel 25-26 June 2004. The principal guest speakers were Dr Keith Turner, Chief Executive, Meridian Energy, Dr Ralph Sims, Massey University Centre for Energy Research, and Mr Craig Mullet of the Ministry for the Environment. The theme of the plenary sessions was planning for future energy management. The after dinner speaker was Dr Nick Smith MP. Some 54 local members attended and 32 contributed papers were presented over the two days.

Frontiers in Resource Management:  the 7th Annual AARES Symposium

The Frontiers in Resource Management Symposium was held in Auckland at the Hilton Viaduct.  Five presenters were flown in from around the world to discuss how significant economic analysis can enhance the development and implementation of robust environmental and natural resource policies in New Zealand and Australia.  Presenters included Gary Libecap (University of Arizona), John Loomis (Colorado State University), Quentin Grafton (Australian National University), Suzi Kerr (Motu), and Brian Bell (Nimmo Bell) with topics ranging from property rights to fisheries management.  After presentations, discussion panels were held, these made for a very informative and educational symposium.  The symposium was a grand success with over 55 people in attendance (over 30% being from outside New Zealand).  The University of Waikato hosted this event with Dr. Pamela Kaval (pkaval@mngt.waikato.ac.nz) being the convenor. All Papers, presentations and abstracts are available to be downloaded at: http://wms-soros.mngt.waikato.ac.nz/NR/exeres/4C7D52F4-9255-4C8F-B515-AB2B59BFDEC5.htm

NZARES committee is looking forward to 2005 and is enthusiastic to promote both NZARES and AARES, and inject new energy.

North American Branch

President          Laura M. McCann
Treasurer/Secretary        Thomas L. Marsh
Co-Councillors   Nick Piggott, Julian Alston

Meetings held in 2004

Other branch activities

The Annual Branch meeting was held on August 2nd at Croc's Mexican Grill in Denver.  The winner of the "Heading South" Travel Award for 2005 was announced: Aaron Smith from the University of California Davis.  The Branch also recognized Kym Anderson who was made a Fellow of A