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FENNER CONFERENCE ON THE ENVIRONMENT, 2007

Water, population and Australia's urban future
The Shine Dome, Canberra, 15–16 March 2007

Urban water: Markets and planning
Professor John Quiggin, University of Queensland

John Quiggin is a Federation Fellow in Economics and Political Science at the University of Queensland. He is prominent both as a research economist and as a commentator on Australian economic policy. He has published over 750 research articles, books and reports in fields including environmental economics, risk analysis, production economics, and the theory of economic growth. He has also written on policy topics such as unemployment policy, micro-economic reform, privatisation, competitive tendering and the management of the Murray-Darling river system. John has been an active contributor to Australian public debate in a wide range of media. He is a regular columnist for the Australian Financial Review, to which he also contributes review and feature articles. He frequently comments on policy issues for radio and TV and was one of the first Australian academics to present publications on a website (now at www.uq.edu.au/economics/johnquiggin). In 2002, he commenced publication of a weblog (now at http://johnquiggin.com) providing daily comments on a wide range of topics.

Key points:

• Although water restrictions are an appropriate short-term response to unexpected supply shortages, only price adjustments can match supply and demand in the long run.
  
  
• Trade between irrigation, urban and environmental water use should be enhanced, and will not entail substantial contraction of the value of output from irrigated agriculture.
  
  
• A policy based on markets for irrigation water and quantitative controls for urban water is inconsistent and ultimately unsustainable.

Key Issues in Australian Water Policy (PDF file) (External link)