Productivity

A scoping study was undertaken to assess the potential for sugarcane growers to implement practical and effective abatement strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from sugarcane cropping. A range of management practices was explored for the Herbert River Qld region and the impact of the different agronomic regimes on annual ....

The Australian Government is meeting the challenge of water scarcity and climate change through significant on-farm infrastructure investment to increase water use efficiency and productivity, and secure longer term water supplies. However, it is likely that on-farm infrastructure investment will alter energy consumption and therefore generate co ....

Multifunctional agriculture, including value-added agriculture, has drawn the attention of different stakeholders (government, farmers) interested in maximising the potential of farming operations and strengthening rural communities. This preliminary study aims to investigate value-added agriculture, including the extent to which food growers con ....

For nearly a hundred years, governments have spent a lot of money trying to promote economic growth in regional Australia. This year's Federal Budget was no exception, with $4.3 billion worth of programs announced to help "unlock the economic potential of our regions". But governments are already spending more than $2 billion a year on programs f ....

This report examines the impact that broadband technology is having on the information and communications technology capabilities of regional industries. Changing capabilities are enhancing the productivity of rural businesses as internal efficiencies are realised, market access is increased and better relationships within the supply chain are po ....

‘Biosecurity’ means protecting the economy, environment and community from the negative impacts of pests, diseases and weeds. Biosecurity is vital for the health, well being and prosperity of everyone in NSW. The NSW Biosecurity strategy sets the overall direction for the management of animal and plant pests, diseases and ....

This paper addresses the role of the Australian local government grants system in promoting efficiency, and examines whether or not the intergovernmental grants process, along with institutional, structural and environmental characteristics, exerts an influence on the efficient provision of local public services. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) i ....

The Productivity Analysis of Key Commonwealth Fisheries report is a publication that provides an indication of productivity trends for the Commonwealth's most valuable commercial fisheries. These trends reflect how well these fisheries use inputs to produce outputs. When viewed over time, productivity trends can assist in the evaluation of a fish ....

Productivity and Regional Economic Performance in Australia contains seven research articles that explore the productivity performance of Queensland and other Australian States. Queensland has experienced a long period of economic growth well above the Australian average. It has long been realised that much of this has been due to ....

Agriculture is a pillar of the Queensland economy—it creates jobs, generates over $13.7 billion per annum for the Queensland economy and is the lifeblood of many rural and regional communities across the state. The Queensland Government understands the importance of agriculture and is committed to getting the industry back on track. To ....

The RDA Riverina Regional Plan is a road map for the future development of the Riverina region. Through discussions and consultations with various stakeholders across the region and the review of existing planning documents a footprint for action has been developed. The key emerging priorities and issues are:  Infrastructure development- ....

Two seemingly competing tendencies, the globalisation of economic activity and the localisation of industries, have captured the interest of scholars, economic development professionals, and policymakers in recent years. While trends towards globalisation of industries and companies might appear to reduce the importance and distinctivenes ....

In this paper we investigate the impact on regional labour markets of an increase in primary factor productivity in the Utilities sector. We conjecture that such an increase in productivity is illustrative of the direct effects of national competition policy (NCP). We compute, at the regional level, indices of net labour inputs that are lost from ....

In 1995 the Australian, State and Territory Governments agreed to a program of competition policy reform. There has been substantial progress in the implementation of the National Competition Policy (NCP) over the past eight years, including in the related reform areas of electricity, gas, road transport and water. This report exam ....