Australian Trade and Investment Commission

On the New South Wales Northern Tablelands, sheep, wool and beef cattle production account for most agricultural output. The industries have been challenged in recent years by environmental and economic factors and are therefore looking for modified or alternative livestock management systems that are capable of sustaining profitability. The Cicerone Project aimed to address these issues by comparing three different grazing and pasture improvement systems. Some recent livestock industry analyses have been based on gross margins which do not include overhead costs. This is an important limitation; economic analysis needs to report key whole-farm business performance measures since overhead costs can differ significantly between livestock management systems. A representative farm approach was used to compare the profitability of the three different livestock management systems. Commercial-scale whole-farm and cash flow analyses over a 5-year period were used to evaluate profitability. No particular system could be recommended to graziers because the test period was not sufficiently representative of the long-term climate to make an adequate assessment about their long-term profitability. Nevertheless, it is apparent that whole-farm level budgets are essential for comparing the overall profitability of different livestock management systems. It is concluded that analysts, consultants and graziers should use whole-farm and cash flow analyses to gauge profitability of different livestock management systems particularly where sustainability issues are important.

The Cicerone Project conducted a grazed farmlet experiment on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, from July 2000 to December 2006, to address questions raised by local graziers concerning how they might improve the profitability and sustainability of their grazing enterprises. This unreplicated experiment examined three management systems at a whole-farmlet scale. The control farmlet (farmlet B) represented typical management for the region, with flexible rotational grazing and moderate inputs. A second farmlet (farmlet A) also used flexible rotational grazing but had a higher level of pasture renovation and soil fertility, while the third farmlet (farmlet C) had the same moderate inputs as farmlet B but employed intensive rotational grazing. The present paper provides an integrated overview of the results collated from component papers and discusses the inferences that can be drawn from what was a complex, agroecosystem experiment. The measurements recorded both early and late in the experiment were tabulated for each of the farmlets and compared with each other as relative proportions, allowing visual presentation on a common, indexed scale. Because of equivalent starting conditions, there was little difference between farmlets early in the experimental period (2000–01) across a wide array of measured parameters, including herbage mass, potential pasture growth rate, liveweight, wool production per head, stocking rate, gross margin and equity. Although the experiment experienced drier-than-average conditions, marked differences emerged among farmlets over time, due to the effects of treatments. During the latter half of the experimental period (2003–06), farmlet A showed numerous positive and a few negative consequences of the higher rate of pasture renovation and increased soil fertility compared with the other two farmlets. While intensive rotational grazing resulted in superior control of gastrointestinal nematodes and slightly finer wool, this system had few effects on pastures and no positive effects on sheep liveweights, wool production or stocking rate. Whereas farmlet A showed higher gross margins, it had a negative and lower short-term cash position than did farmlets B and C, due largely to the artificially high rate of pasture renovation undertaken on this farmlet during the experiment. Although farmlet B had the highest cash position at the end of the experiment, this came at a cost of the declining quality of its pastures. Modelling of the farmlet systems allowed the results to be considered over the longer timeframes needed to assess sustainability. Thus, returns on investment were compared over realistic amortisation periods and produced outcomes based on long-term climatic expectations which were compared with those that arose under the drier-than-average conditions experienced during the experimental period. The main factors responsible for lifting the productivity of farmlet A were the sowing of temperate species and increased soil fertility, which enhanced the amount of legume and increased pasture quality and potential pasture growth. The factor that affected farmlet C most was the low proportion of the farmlet grazed at any one time, with high stock density imposed during grazing, which decreased feed intake quality. The paper concludes that more profitable and sustainable outcomes are most likely to arise from grazing enterprises that are proactively managed towards optimal outcomes by maintaining sufficient desirable perennial grasses with adequate legume content, enhancing soil fertility and employing flexible rotational grazing.

Abstract. This paper provides an overview and the results of the Australia-Japan 2020 Quasi Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) Emergency Warning System trial project. The project aimed to evaluate and demonstrate the feasibility of utilising the QZSS system to support emergency warning and response in Australia. The trial has focussed on bushfire and tsunami warnings with an emphasis on the message structure and standards for incorporation on the available signal bandwidth, and the spatial coverage extent of the messages. It also aimed to address the need for a space-based communication capability in Australia, which could potentially facilitate effective emergency warning system unconstrained by the limitations of terrestrial telecommunications.A newly dedicated MobileApp was developed to decode the warning message and visualise relevant information on a map. Two messages for bushfire and tsunami warnings were generated in Australia and sent to the QZSS ground station for satellite transmission. The developed application was tested in Victoria and New South Wales. The trial was successful in the sense that the emergency warning message could be received and decoded using the QZSS enabled receivers and the dedicated MobileApp. The field tests showed that the systems are capable of delivering the required information to users with the required timeliness and completeness. Several technical issues encountered during testing can be primarily attributed to the alpha state of the app, and the specific receiver used for testing. Neither of which are considered to be significant barriers to the on-going development of an operational satellite EWS system.

This article seeks to understand and explain the international legal framework, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation-Plus (REDD+), and to determine whether the implementation of this framework is too fragmented to deliver its promised benefits. The international legal framework, REDD+, is detailed, to capture the objective(s), key mechanisms and possible activities available to states and to outline the international development of the framework. The laws and policies related to REDD+, REDD+ implementation, forest sector management and Indigenous land rights are examined in two tropical states (Fiji and Ghana). The comparative analysis of the two case study states (which have not been compared previously) explores through three lenses the question of whether REDD+ implementation is too fragmented to achieve its promise: the financial implementation of the framework; the policies and laws nationally implementing REDD+; and how the drivers of deforestation are addressed by states. It is explained that, whilst there are some gaps in Fiji’s REDD+ implementation of provisions, such as comprehensive Indigenous land rights, Fiji’s national implementation of the REDD+ framework has been reasonably effective and is well-regulated by the laws and policies which have enabled the international legal framework to be integrated into Fiji’s national activities. Similarly, it is explained that Ghana’s national implementation of the REDD+ framework has been productive with laws and policies that enable proactive integration of the international legal framework into Ghana’s national activities. Nevertheless, there are lessons which each state can learn from the other – and which are of general value. It is concluded that REDD+ implementation is not overly fragmented; and that it is on track to make a significant contribution to emission reductions.

One of the most important sections of the Trade Practices Act is section 45, which concerns restraint of trade. Dr Pengilley begins by outlining the provisions of the Trade Practices Act dealing with restraint of trade and the role of the Trade Practices Commission in relation to those provisions and in comparison to the courts. Detailed analysis is then given to numerous decisions, from a number of jurisdictions, relevant to the interpretation of section 45. Extensive examination is also made of a large number of Trade Practices Commission decisions regarding clearance or authorisation of conduct which is, or may be, contrary to section 45. The article concludes by discussing and assessing the implications of the High Court's only decision to date on the interpretation of section 45.

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