Australia's country towns 2050: what will a climate adapted settlement pattern look like?

Abstract This report considers the impact of anticipated climate change on Australia’s inland towns and centres to the year 2050. It examines the ways in which non-coastal settlements will be affected by the primary, secondary and tertiary impacts of climate change, including the impact of extreme climate events, a warming and drying climate over much of southern Australia and increased costs associated with both structural economic change and accelerated degradation of infrastructure. The research finds that climate change is likely to have a wide range of impacts on Australia’s system of inland settlement and that not all of these impacts are likely to be adverse. The published literature highlights the fact that some industries – including wool production, grains, viticulture and some grazing – are likely to benefit from climate change. While this is not the case in all instances, the fact that some industries will be enhanced runs contrary to both commonly held expectations and public discourse. In other sectors of the economy and society, technological change and/or investment in infrastructure will overcome many of the climate-change related challenges that have the potential to place the wellbeing of inland centres at risk. This project found that rural and regional centres across Australia will be affected by climate change in different ways, depending upon: Their industry structure; Their geographic location, especially their degree of remoteness; Their climatic conditions now and in the year 2030; and, The resource endowments of communities – and especially their stock of human, social, physical, fiscal and economic capital. The project reviewed the national and international literature on climate change adaptation to consider the vulnerability of individual inland centres. A vulnerability index was developed that was able to distinguish places that are more, and less, vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change. This analysis was undertaken as a first step toward better understanding the differential impacts of climate change on the inland settlement system, and with a full awareness of the critiques of such approaches. The modelling highlighted that places that are remote confront some of the greatest risks from climate change, and that many – but not all – Indigenous communities are especially vulnerable. Detailed field work was undertaken in five case studies across Australia – Alice Springs, NT; Junee, NSW; Horsham, Victoria; Waikerie, South Australia; Moura, Queensland – in order to understand the steps taken by inland centres to plan and prepare for climate change. The research found that many persons within rural and regional communities do not accept that human-induced climate change is a reality, and that in consequence preparations for change are patchy. However, in many rural economies contemporary ‘good practice’ in farming or grazing is entirely consistent with the measures needed to plan for climate change. The fieldwork also highlighted the fact that while it is possible to model the potential impact of climate change, such measures overlook the commitment and willingness of groups to address this challenge. Finally, we conclude that climate change will contribute to the shifting nature of Australia’s inland settlement system to the year 2050 but that it will be just one of a number of factors contributing to change. Other factors, including global markets, demographic change, the relative prosperity of individual industries, and the investment decisions of government will be important also. Please cite this report as: Beer, A, Tually, S, Kroehn, M, Martin, J, Gerritsen, R, Taylor, M, Graymore, M, and Law, J, 2013, Australia’s country towns 2050: What will a climate adapted settlement pattern look like? National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast, pp.139.Abstract This report considers the impact of anticipated climate change on Australia’s inland towns and centres to the year 2050. It examines the ways in which non-coastal settlements will be affected by the primary, secondary and tertiary impacts of climate change, including the impact of extreme climate events, a warming and drying climate over much of southern Australia and increased costs associated with both structural economic change and accelerated degradation of infrastructure. The research finds that climate change is likely to have a wide range of impacts on Australia’s system of inland settlement and that not all of these impacts are likely to be adverse. The published literature highlights the fact that some industries – including wool production, grains, viticulture and some grazing – are likely to benefit from climate change. While this is not the case in all instances, the fact that some industries will be enhanced runs contrary to both commonly held expectations and public discourse. In other sectors of the economy and society, technological change and/or investment in infrastructure will overcome many of the climate-change related challenges that have the potential to place the wellbeing of inland centres at risk. This project found that rural and regional centres across Australia will be affected by climate change in different ways, depending upon: Their industry structure; Their geographic location, especially their degree of remoteness; Their climatic conditions now and in the year 2030; and, The resource endowments of communities – and especially their stock of human, social, physical, fiscal and economic capital. The project reviewed the national and international literature on climate change adaptation to consider the vulnerability of individual inland centres. A vulnerability index was developed that was able to distinguish places that are more, and less, vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change. This analysis was undertaken as a first step toward better understanding the differential impacts of climate change on the inland settlement system, and with a full awareness of the critiques of such approaches. The modelling highlighted that places that are remote confront some of the greatest risks from climate change, and that many – but not all – Indigenous communities are especially vulnerable. Detailed field work was undertaken in five case studies across Australia – Alice Springs, NT; Junee, NSW; Horsham, Victoria; Waikerie, South Australia; Moura, Queensland – in order to understand the steps taken by inland centres to plan and prepare for climate change. The research found that many persons within rural and regional communities do not accept that human-induced climate change is a reality, and that in consequence preparations for change are patchy. However, in many rural economies contemporary ‘good practice’ in farming or grazing is entirely consistent with the measures needed to plan for climate change. The fieldwork also highlighted the fact that while it is possible to model the potential impact of climate change, such measures overlook the commitment and willingness of groups to address this challenge. Finally, we conclude that climate change will contribute to the shifting nature of Australia’s inland settlement system to the year 2050 but that it will be just one of a number of factors contributing to change. Other factors, including global markets, demographic change, the relative prosperity of individual industries, and the investment decisions of government will be important also

'A pathway to where?' Inquiry into understanding and reimagining social housing pathways. AHURI Final Report No.332

This report is the final report in a series for the AHURI Inquiry into understanding and reimagining social housing pathways. Housing pathways are the housing experiences of tenants and their households over time and space. They are not linear and may refer to changes in tenure, household form, experiences and attachment. This Inquiry draws on a range of data to understand: 1) how social housing pathways are conceptualised and constructed by operational housing policies and the wider social policy context in Australia; 2) what survey and administrative data tell us about who is moving into and out of social housing; and, 3) the lived experience of people who have moved into, within and/or out of social housing. These findings are brought together in this report to reimagine social housing pathways for positive housing outcomes for current and future tenants

Women, domestic and family violence and homelessnes

  This report investigates the support and accommodation needs of women (and children) affected by domestic and family violence. It finds that there is no one solution to domestic and family violence related homelessness. There is also no easy to roll out solution. This is because there is no one pathway into homelessness for all women affected by domestic and family violence and many women cycle in and out of homelessness and crisis accommodation. Authors: Dr Selina Tually, Dr Debbie Faulkner, Mrs Cecile Cutler and Associate; Professor Michele Slatter, Flinders Institute for Housing, Urban and Regional Research, Flinders University

A review of the integration of state and territory housing and disability policies in Australia: August 2006

This report investigates the extent of integration of state and territory housing and disability policies in Australia in order to understand how and to what extent relevant state and territory policies and plans address the housing and assistance needs of people with disabilities, and what strategies are in place in each jurisdiction to address growing housing assistance demand from people with disabilities. Importantly, the report also provides a policy background and context for current empirical research being undertaken by the AHURI Southern Research Centre into the housing careers of people with disabilities in Victoria, as part of AHURI\u27s National Research Venture 2, 21st Century Housing Careers and Australia\u27s Housing Future. References to Government policy are current at August 2006

The role of the philanthropic sector in addressing homelessness: Australian and international experiences

This paper is the first output of a project entitled Beyond charity: the engagement of the philanthropic and homelessness sectors in Australia. The report has two purposes. First, it outlines the focus of, and rationale for, this empirical research investigating the engagement of the philanthropic and homelessness sectors in Australia. Second, it presents the results of a targeted literature review scoping the form and extent of philanthropic and homelessness sector engagement, also paying specific attention to the structures that support active philanthropic engagement with homelessness, including taxation incentives and disincentives

Too big to ignore - A report on future issues for Australian women's housing 2006-2025

This report considers the future of housing for women in Australia and looks both at current patterns and emerging trends in order to paint a picture of Australian women in 2025 and the housing they will occupy; with respect to the types of dwellings in which they will live in, how much they may pay for their housing, their tenure arrangements and their household structure

Housing assistance, social inclusion and people living with a disability:AHURI Final Report No. 178

On the whole, the research finds that housing assistance has a very substantial impact on the social inclusion of people with a disability in Australia. It has a number of positive impacts: (a) Housing assistance provides stability in the lives of people living with a disability who would otherwise be vulnerable to a range of negative circumstances and who may otherwise have no sense of control over their lives. (b) Housing assistance helps people with a disability deal with other crises in their lives—health, family relationships, monetary concerns et cetera—and adds to their resilience and independence. (c) Housing assistance reduces the exposure of people with a disability to very high housing costs and the risk of eviction. It reduces both vulnerability to homelessness and the experience of (recurrent) homelessness. In the absence of housing assistance, it is almost certain that significantly larger numbers of people living with a disability would experience homelessness, and its most acute manifestation—rough sleeping.(d) Housing assistance makes it more likely that people with a disability will enter and remain in paid employment. This has social inclusion benefits both for the individual and broader society. (e) Housing assistance, in some instances, can help people with a disability find a voice within their community by equipping them with advocacy skills and providing stability in life, which in turn enables engagement with wider social institutions