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Drought and the Pastoral Industry: Policy Needs to Ensure A Sustainable Future for the Pastoral Industry and Regional Australia

TAGS: Drought; Impacts: paddock level - property level - regional level – State/National Level; Impacts: ecology – economics – social; living area; land degradation; sustainability; resilience; risk management; preparedness; self-reliance; long-term viability; unintended outcomes
A severe drought now comparable with the big droughts of the past in Australia has developed across much of eastern and inland Australia.
The scope of this article is to review key issues that must be effectively addressed if new drought policies are to resonate with the needs of the pastoral industry by building on the cumulative knowledge arising from reviews of past drought policies.
Policy issues such as: living area standards, corporate and foreign investment, environmental impacts, unifying principles for drought policy, preparedness, self-reliance, risk management, resilience, unintended outcomes and meaningful involvement of pastoralists.
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