Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ernment ABARE, as a handmaiden to government neoliberalism, is accused of: over-
stating the costs to Australia of introducing carbon abatement measures; opposing
state-based legislation aimed at preventing land clearing; and, until 2006, denying
that climate hange was occurring (Keane, 2008). So muh for bureaucratic impar-
tiality! Suh is the faith that some institutions have in the market system that they
are able to dismiss the risks associated with climate hange by simply believing mar-
ket forces will lead us to salvation. This is a statement of faith, rather than being an
empirically-proven argument. That the market cannot properly cost 'externalities' -
and most of the externalities are environmental costs that are unpaid by business -
indicates the sleight of hand that is perpetuated by the proponents of neoliberalism.
Let's recall Sir Niholas Stern's comment on climate hange: climate hange, he ar-
gued, was the biggest market failure the world had ever seen. The greenhouse gas
releases, and other forms of pollution, were never costed and built into the business
models of private irms. hose irms poketed the proits and socialized the costs of
their activities - a process convenient for the firms, but disastrous for the environ-
ment and planet.
It is instructive to consider conditions in Australia's Murray-Darling Basin - see
map in
Figure 9.1
. he Basin, whih covers one seventh of the continent, currently
produces 40 per cent of the gross value of Australia's agricultural production. Some
85 per cent of all agricultural irrigation in the nation takes place in the MDB, helping
to produce about $9 billion worth of produce eah year. Approximately 97 per cent of
the Basin's wool, 80 per cent of its wheat and 50 per cent of its beef are exported. But
soils in many parts of the Basin are thin, fragile and lak fertility. To ahieve levels of
production to sustain high-output farming, these soils receive heavy applications of
nitrogen and phosphate. The climate is highly variable and there have been at least
ten major (and 30 minor) droughts during the last century. Irrigation has, therefore,
proven to be an essential ingredient in ahieving high levels of agricultural produc-
tion in the Basin.
Figure 9.1 The Murray-Darling Basin
