The most recent drought has been one of the most severe on record with large parts of southern and eastern Australia experiencing dry conditions since 1996. Moreover, 'For the agriculturally important Murray- Darling Basin, however, October 2007 marks the sixth anniversary of lower than average rainfall totals, with the November 2001 to October 2007 period...

The aim of this paper is to present an overview of the Australian natural gas sector and outline some recent important developments. It also expands on and updates earlier work by the Parliamentary Library on this topic.

The Conference's 18 priority recommendations are presented. Two of the issues have been included in each of the nine biannual conferences. This Conference agrees that Indigenous life expectancy is still unacceptably low, and that there is still insufficient focus in national health research efforts on rural and remote communities.

This study develops estimates of current and future water usage in the Pilbara. This information is to be used by the Department of Water in regional water planning processes for the Pilbara and to complement other work on the water resources of the region.

Climate change poses challenges for all sectors of the Australian economy but particularly for those sectors dependent on natural resources such as agriculture. The National Agriculture and Climate Change Action Plan 2006-2009 (the Action Plan) is an agreement by Australian governments to develop a coordinated framework for climate change policy in agriculture to contribute to...