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Background: The present study is the foundational project of TeachABI-Australia , which aims to develop and implement an accessible, nation-wide digital resource for educators to address their unmet acquired brain injury (ABI)-related professional learning needs. The aim of the present study was to identify the adaptations required to improve the suitability and acceptability of the TeachABI professional development module within the Australian education system from the perspectives of Australian educators. Methods: The research design employed an integrated knowledge translation approach and followed the ADAPT Guidance for undertaking adaptability research. A purposive sample of eight educators eligible to teach primary school in Australia provided feedback on the module through a quantitative post-module feedback questionnaire and a qualitative semi-structured interview. Results: Participants rated the acceptability of the module as ' Completely Acceptable ' (Mdn = 5, IQR = 1), and reported ' only Minor' changes were required (Mdn = 2, IQR = 0.25) to improve the suitability to the Australian context. Qualitative analysis of transcripts revealed three broad categories: (1) the usefulness of TeachABI , (2) the local fit of TeachABI , and (3) pathways for implementing TeachABI in the local setting. Recommended adaptations to the module collated from participant feedback included changes to language, expansion of content, and inclusion of Australian resources, legislation, and videos. Conclusions: TeachABI is acceptable to Australian educators but requires modifications to tailor the resource to align with the unique schooling systems, needs, and culture of the local setting. The systematic methodological approach to adaptation outlined in this study will serve as a guide for future international iterations of TeachABI. This paper details the adaptation process for TeachABI -Australia, a nationwide digital resource for educators addressing acquired brain injury (ABI)-related learning needs. Australian educators found TeachABI acceptable but recommended modifications to improve cultural and environmental fit, highlighting the importance of tailoring professional development resources to local contexts. This article belongs to the Collection Clinical Implementation to Optimise Outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarises key issues from papers included in a special issue about the impacts of climate change on Australian wetlands. The papers covered: the assessment of wetlands under climate change, adaptation and engineering responses to climate change, and restoring wetlands under a changing climate. The key issues from these papers were used to indicate areas where the Ramsar Convention could develop guidance as part of its' Handbooks for the Wise Use of Wetlands. These included: (i) assessing changes in the distribution of species and whether these constitute a change in the ecological character of the wetland; (ii) assessing the usefulness of models of wetland response to climate change; (iii) assessing the value in allocating water to protected sites where restoration would be contingent on reallocation of larger volumes of water; (iv) assessing the efficacy of engineering responses with the potential to deliver more water-efficient environmental outcomes for wetlands and (v) determining if the description of the ecological character of a Ramsar site at the time of listing is a suitable reference for management purposes. With these issues in mind it is recommended that further attention is directed towards determining and responding to the ecological consequences of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the impact of climate change on major Australian sport stadia, and organizational responses. Specifically, we explore how climate change impacts the water resources used at such stadia and implications for the organizations managing this critical sport infrastructure. We adopted a qualitative case study method focusing on organizations that own and/or manage major sport stadia. Data were collected primarily through semi-structured interviews with participants representing 12 of Australia's 14 major sport stadiums. Data were analyzed using an interpretive process, and themes were developed relating to geo-physical, commercial and regulatory impacts, and adaptive responses. The analysis identified six climate change issues pertaining to water resources: (a) reduced rainfall, (b) increased evaporation from playing surfaces (c) water supply restrictions and other regulation, (d) higher water supply costs, (e) capital costs for water management infrastructure, and (f) negative public perceptions of high water consumption. The three organizational water management strategies were: (a) water harvesting, (b) water storage, and (c) water recycling. These strategies are indicative of adaptation responses to climate impacts. Given the long-term nature of climate change, and the proliferation of water-related public policy activity in recent years, stadium organizations will likely benefit from including climate change and adaptation in their strategic thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite being the most tangibly impacted by the first-order effects of a warming climate, much of Australia's agricultural regions have remained relatively conservative in their views on climate change and the need for adaptation. This paper aims to understand how the experience of an extreme climate event like the 2017–2020 drought might shift opinions and values on these issues within agricultural communities. Through in-depth interviews with 20 graziers across Northwest NSW during the worst days of the drought, we found that various psychological lock-ins, historical memories of resilience, and local cultural values appeared to be undermining the perception of their vulnerability, while enhancing perceptions of their ability to endure. Such discursive constructions appear to explain why a jarring climatic event like the 2017–2020 drought was failing to produce a noticeable shift in their views. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the most widely-grown crop in the Mediterranean semi-arid (150–400 mm) cropping zones of both southern Australia and the inland Pacific Northwest (PNW) of the United States of America (United States). Low precipitation, low winter temperatures and heat and drought conditions during late spring and summer limit wheat yields in both regions. Due to rising temperatures, reduced autumn rainfall and increased frost risk in southern Australia since 1990, cropping conditions in these two environments have grown increasingly similar. This presents the opportunity for southern Australian growers to learn from the experiences of their PNW counterparts. Wheat cultivars with an obligate vernalization requirement (winter wheat), are an integral part of semi-arid PNW cropping systems, but in Australia are most frequently grown in cool or cold temperate cropping zones that receive high rainfall (>500 mm p.a.). It has recently been shown that early-sown winter wheat cultivars can increase water-limited potential yield in semi-arid southern Australia, in the face of decreasing autumn rainfall. Despite this research, there has to date been little breeding effort invested in winter wheat for growers in semi-arid southern Australia, and agronomic research into the management of early-sown winter wheat has only occurred in recent years. This paper explores the current and emerging environmental constraints of cropping in semi-arid southern Australia and, using the genotype × management strategies developed over 120 years of winter wheat agronomy in the PNW, highlights the potential advantages early-sown winter wheat offers growers in low-rainfall environments. The increased biomass, stable flowering time and late-summer establishment opportunities offered by winter wheat genotypes ensure they achieve higher yields in the PNW compared to later-sown spring wheat. Traits that make winter wheat advantageous in the PNW may also contribute to increased yield when grown in semi-arid southern Australia. This paper investigates which specific traits present in winter wheat genotypes give them an advantage in semi-arid cropping environments, which management practices best exploit this advantage, and what potential improvements can be made to cultivars for semi-arid southern Australia based on the history of winter wheat crop growth in the semi-arid Pacific Northwest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Climate change and dynamic government policy is compounding pressure on water resources in farming landscapes creating water scarcity. Successful adaptation to a more sustainable farming system in the face of water scarcity is not a foregone conclusion and requires choosing between short-term incremental change or more transformational options. In this paper, we propose a framework 'unpacking' four pathways that farmers might use to achieve sustainability: absorb, exploit, adapt and transform. Each pathway has specific attributes that relate to the type of farming system change undertaken. The framework is applied to 28 irrigation farmers from southern Murry Darling Basin, Australia, all facing water scarcity from drought and water policy. Using semi-structured interviews, we test the attributes and found they help understand farmers' pathway choices. We show that farmers use all four pathways, either singularly or simultaneously, to achieve a range of sustainability outcomes when facing a water crisis, although some are maladapted, and result in less sustainable outcomes. The study adds to the literature on pathways to sustainability by illustrating the need to clarify attributes that describe what each pathway means to farmers' decision-making and to consider multiple pathways, not just one, e.g. transformation. Policy implications are clear: there are various pathways to, or away from, farm sustainability. Therefore, policy interventions must be 'fit for purpose' and appropriately consider the diversity of farmer capacities and contexts. A focus on a single pathway or single technological fix will fail to deliver farm sustainability. This paper starts to develop a more specific and nuanced understanding of pathways to farm sustainability that reflect real life farming experiences with insight for policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In January 2011, Brisbane, Australia, experienced its first significant flooding in almost four decades. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire conducted in four affected inner western suburbs 7 months after the flood. These locations were specifically chosen as the residents within these communities come from a range of demographic, social, and economic backgrounds. The research utilised a mixed methods approach involving a quantitative questionnaire and qualitative interviews. This paper examines residents' experience of the flood, their thoughts on risk reduction and insurance, what factors helped or hindered response and adaptation to flood risk, and how to articulate shared responsibility for reducing flood risk. Assessing gender, age, income, and previous flood experience, it finds that those with previous flood experience were more likely to have flood insurance but less likely to have taken precautions to prepare for the flood. While almost three-quarters of respondents said they were aware of the flood risk when they moved to the area, they were nonetheless surprised by and largely unprepared for the 2011 flood. The implications of these findings for future flood risk reduction are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper presents a study of atmospheric climate impacts on community-level sports clubs' (CLSC) in Australia and Canada, their vulnerability and resilience, and organisational responses. Design/Methods: A qualitative methodology was used with a multiple case research design. Data (interviews, documents) was collected from a sample of 23 CLSC organisations managing grass turf sport fields exposed to climatic extremes in temperate regions of both countries. Findings: CLSCs in both nations experienced vulnerability to climate impacts. Direct damage to playing fields resulted from extreme climate events. Indirect impacts include higher injury risks, interrupted and/or cancelled competitions, insurance risks, plus higher operating and capital costs. Adapted management was evident for water resources, playing turf, and organisational policies. Practical Implications: Provides insights into the changing practice of sport management at the community-level. Research Contribution: The results challenge the assumption that climate is a static and benign resource for sport. This study demonstrates impacts of climate extremes on sport in the northern and southern hemispheres, the potential for adapting sport management practices, and developing resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For centuries, the Aboriginal Peoples of Australia have been confronted with major ecological, geological, and climate events, and had to adapt home shelters and settlements to seasonal variations. Many of these changes have been captured in the cultural traditions of the indigenous people of Australia reflecting a harsh coastal environment. Weather patterns and climate change phenomena were gauged by the occurrence of landscape changes and recurring weather events by the acknowledgement of six seasons. Community settlements were established and relocated to adapt to the patterns of nature. This paper investigates if this ancient knowledge can provide answers for adaptation of coastal settlements to a changing climate now and in the future. Drawing upon recent published literature on predicted coastal climate change impacts in the different regions of Australia, and the review of Indigenous knowledge on settlement planning according to a six season cycle, the author explores traditional knowledge as input to a potential Climate Change Adaptation Model that considers a proposed framework, for integrating indigenous knowledge into the contemporary climate change adaptation practice and discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the Australian federal government's approach to climate adaptation policy for remote northern Indigenous communities through the close examination of a seminal Scoping Study. This approach is taken to illustrate the lag between adaptation theory and practice, and to highlight important considerations to enable the development of a just and effective policy. The analysis suggests that policy in this area would benefit from the further consideration of three factors, namely the role of uncertainty in climate policy, the need for meaningful consultation with communities, and the benefit of integrating contextual and bottom-up assessment of vulnerability with decision-making in an iterative manner. The paper concludes by suggesting that the current approach to vulnerability assessment is insufficiently nuanced to allow an adequate appreciation of factors that influence social vulnerability in remote communities, and consequently, policy developed from it is likely to be ineffective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This two-part paper considers the complementarity between adaptation and mitigation in managing the risks associated with the enhanced greenhouse effect. Part one reviews the application of risk management methods to climate change assessments. Formal investigations of the enhanced greenhouse effect have produced three generations of risk assessment. The first led to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), First Assessment Report and subsequent drafting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The second investigated the impacts of unmitigated climate change in the Second and Third IPCC Assessment Reports. The third generation, currently underway, is investigating how risk management options can be prioritised and implemented. Mitigation and adaptation have two main areas of complementarity. Firstly, they each manage different components of future climate-related risk. Mitigation reduces the number and magnitude of potential climate hazards, reducing the most severe changes first. Adaptation increases the ability to cope with climate hazards by reducing system sensitivity or by reducing the consequent level of harm. Secondly, they manage risks at different extremes of the potential range of future climate change. Adaptation works best with changes of lesser magnitude at the lower end of the potential range. Where there is sufficient adaptive capacity, adaptation improves the ability of a system to cope with increasingly larger changes over time. By moving from uncontrolled emissions towards stabilisation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, mitigation limits the upper part of the range. Different activities have various blends of adaptive and mitigative capacity. In some cases, high sensitivity and low adaptive capacity may lead to large residual climate risks; in other cases, a large adaptive capacity may mean that residual risks are small or non-existent. Mitigative and adaptive capacity do not share the same scale: adaptive capacity is expressed locally, whereas mitigative capacity is different for each activity and location but needs to be aggregated at the global scale to properly assess its potential benefits in reducing climate hazards. This can be seen as a demand for mitigation, which can be exercised at the local scale through exercising mitigative capacity. Part two of the paper deals with the situation where regional bodies aim to maximise the benefits of managing climate risks by integrating adaptation and mitigation measures at their various scales of operation. In north central Victoria, Australia, adaptation and mitigation are being jointly managed by a greenhouse consortium and a catchment management authority. Several related studies investigating large-scale revegetation are used to show how climate change impacts and sequestration measures affect soil, salt and carbon fluxes in the landscape. These studies show that trade-offs between these interactions will have to be carefully managed to maximise their relative benefits. The paper concludes that when managing climate change risks, there are many instances where adaptation and mitigation can be integrated at the operational level. However, significant gaps between our understanding of the benefits of adaptation and mitigation between local and global scales remain. Some of these may be addressed by matching demands for mitigation (for activities and locations where adaptive capacity will be exceeded) with the ability to supply that demand through localised mitigative capacity by means of globally integrated mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the reasons why many people are reticent about travelling in a COVID-adapted world. It reports on a study of residents of Southeast Queensland, Australia conducted in mid-2022, up to six months after borders reopened after a prolonged COVID-19 shutdown. About one quarter of respondents were less interested in travel in a COVID-adapted world than they were before the pandemic struck. They were a diverse group whose reasons for their reticence could be categorised into four broad risk groups of: ongoing anxiety; fear of catching the disease; satisfaction risk, and; travel risk as reflected by an overall loss of interest in travel. Each group displayed different COVID-adapted travel patterns that reflect the operationalisation of different risk categories. A follow-up survey conducted in August 2023 confirmed that up to one in four people still have less desire to travel as a result of COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of various adaptation options is dependent on the capacity to plan, design and implement them. Understanding the determinants of adaptive capacity is, therefore, crucial for effective responses to climate change. This paper offers an assessment of adaptive capacity across a range of sectors in South East Queensland, Australia. The paper has four parts, including (1) an overview of adaptive capacity, in particular as a learning process; (2) a description of the various methods used to determine adaptive capacity; (3) a synthesis of the determinants of adaptive capacity; and (4) the identification of mechanisms to build adaptive capacity in the region. We conclude that the major issue impacting adaptive capacity is not the availability of physical resources but the dominant social, political and institutional culture of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South East Queensland's (SEQ's) centralised electricity system is under great pressure to adapt. Climate change is converging with socio-economic, demographic and technological changes to create a 'perfect storm' for the region's electricity system. Distribution networks are particularly affected, with these factors contributing to tremendous peak demand growth, about double the rate of growth in average demand in recent years. This paper reviews how Australia's electricity system is adapting to multiple drivers of peak electricity demand. We use socio-technical transitions theory to understand the temporal interconnected social and technical dimensions of adaptation in this setting. Specifically, we present an historical narrative of the emergence of centralisation in Australia and outline the peak demand problem in SEQ and review adaptation options from the international literature. We also analyse the interactions between key social groups and their adaptation responses over the past decade. Our analysis shows that adaptation has become a contested process between supply-chain actors and end-users, each with different economic objectives, adaptation needs and capacities. The resulting adaptation dynamic that is emerging shows worrying signs of maladaptation. Implications for market governance and urban policy and research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research that projects biophysical changes under climate change is more advanced than research that projects socio-economic changes. There is a need in adaptation planning for informed socio-economic projections as well as analysis of how these changes may exacerbate or reduce vulnerability. Our focus in this paper is on the delivery of time-sensitive socio-economic information that can better support anticipatory adaptation planning approaches. Using a ‘multiple lines of evidence’ approach based on Australian Bureau of Statistics’ data (2010/2011), we examine the socio-economic vulnerability of the grazing sector located on Australia’s east coast. We profile the east coast grazing sector through an overview of the composition of its workforce and the value of grazing commodities produced. We then assess the potential vulnerability of the grazing sector using spatial snapshots of five factors known to shape socio-economic vulnerability in New South Wales and Queensland: (1) reliance on agriculture, (2) geographic remoteness, (3) socio-economic disadvantage, (4) economic diversity and (5) age. Our assessment of the east coast grazing sector reveals six subregions characterised by high potential socio-economic vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. We find high percentages of labour forces employed in agriculture, geographic remoteness and age (high percentages of owner/managers and employees in younger age groups) to be drivers of vulnerability. Finally, we evaluate the ways in which these vulnerabilities may be exacerbated or reduced in light of emerging environmental, economic and social trends. This approach complements demographic projection methods to deliver time-sensitive socio-economic information to support anticipatory adaptation planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local government organisations in coastal Australia have historically commissioned studies aimed at understanding risks in their locality to future sea level rise as a starting point for developing adaptation strategies to climate change. Therefore, the success of the overall adaptation activities of local government are strongly influenced by the way those initial risk studies are scoped and conducted, and how the outputs of those studies underpin subsequent adaptation planning activities within the organization. Mainstreaming of adaptation planning activities within local government is critical in terms of getting stakeholder support and required resources for its implementation. This paper analyses a sample of these coastal risk assessment studies across seven states and territories in Australia, with an aim to critically investigate the current state of practice among coastal local governments. First, we develop a typology of studies that have been undertaken by or for practitioners to understand coastal climate change risks, and discuss the applicability of the studies within the policy-making context of local government. Second, we identify a set of sample studies from the ‘grey literature’ through a systematic process and investigate to what extent they adhere to best practice risk management guidelines and principles, such as ISO31000. Third, we interview stakeholders from top performing studies to identify how/if the risk studies helped their organization in progressing their adaptation planning. We find that there is a significant inconsistency among terminologies in the coastal climate change risk assessment unpublished literature as studies use “risk”, vulnerability” and “hazard” concepts interchangeably despite their separate objectives and aims. Most studies perform poorly in evaluating risk against broader organizational criteria. Subsequently, it is difficult to integrate the findings of such studies into a broader organizational risk register, limiting opportunities for identified coastal climate change risks to be integrated into councils’ long-term strategic decision making. Conversely, the follow up interviews of studies that performed well in scoping and consultation in our assessment demonstrate that these aspects were beneficial to stakeholders in terms of informing adaptation planning. Importantly, the findings presented in this paper confirm the need for a consistent risk assessment approach for local councils in the coastal zone to underpin successful adaptation planning. This is a critical issue, not only for Australia, but for local government organisations globally given that sea level rise is a projected threat for all populated coastal regions worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pride in Australia's extreme climate has long been a part of Australia's national identity. Today, climate continues to be enrolled in a range of nationalistic projects, including the (re)development of climate science and other responses to climate change. In this paper, we outline some of the contours of the 'Australian national climate', claims to know it, and four idealised responses to it: bounce back, dismissal, endurance, and migration. We argue that the deeply cultural framing of climate in Australia-in particular, Australians' emphasis on the climate's inherent variability and unknowability, and their own historical adaptability-is being exploited by the federal government and hampering climate change mitigation nationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil is the dominant motorized transportation fuel used in most countries, including Australia. Many other oil-derived products and services are important to the functioning of the Australian economy. It makes sense, then, that this issue of Australian Planner focuses on the risks associated with scarce and/or expensive oil. This paper provides background information about oil consumption in Australia, and reviews the available information on price elasticities for the major oil end-uses. Based on this review, the impact of higher oil prices is assessed, and short- and long-run policy options are discussed. Reducing fuel used for private motoring, and preparing emergency adaptation plans to cope with sudden oil price spikes are identified as the major areas on which planners should focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary objective of this paper is to discuss the limitations of risk management as a strategy for Australian local government climate change adaptation and explore the advantages of complementary approaches, including a social-ecological resilience framework, adaptive and transition management, and vulnerability assessment. Some federal and local government initiatives addressing the limitations of risk-based approaches are introduced. We argue that conventional risk-based approaches to adaptation, largely focused on hazard identification and quantitative modelling, will be inadequate on their own for dealing with the challenges of climate change. We suggest that responses to climate change adaptation should move beyond conventional risk-based strategies to more realistically account for complex and dynamically evolving social-ecological systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is now broadly acknowledged that climate change due to an enhanced Greenhouse Effect is underway and such change will have major implications for our societies and environments. This paper outlines a pedagogical approach devised to encourage learning and critical thinking about climate change. A constructivist approach to teaching and learning is applied to stimulate analysis of potential impacts of climate change on systems familiar to secondary school students in South Australia. The problem-based method guides students through a conceptualisation of the implications of environmental change. Students at Woodcroft College, when given the opportunity to examine the potential climate change impacts on a local coastal ecosystem, found the method to be both challenging and engaging. The exercise concluded with students discussing possible personal behavioural and broader societal responses to reduce the impacts of future climate change. The paper contends that such teaching to support students to become resilient young adults will be vital in a future world of environmental risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The policy response to drought can have both positive and negative effects by either promoting adaptation to greater variability or setting in train processes that ultimately make water users less adaptable. Also, on the one hand the 'crisis' of drought can encourage policy reforms that may have stalled and on the other hand the desire to be seen to be 'doing something' can lead to political expediency that might be counter to the goal of adaptation. In this paper we focus on recent Australian water policy in an effort to gain insights to the direction of contemporary interventions and identify what can be done better. In order to answer questions about the current preparedness for drought we consider strengths and weaknesses that emerged in response to the so-called millennium drought that began in Australia in the mid-1990s and concluded in 2009-2010. We also briefly scrutinise subsequent policy changes, legislation and management practices against wider reform objectives. The aim is to encourage other jurisdictions to recognise the pitfalls and avoid costly mistakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite there being considerable research and knowledge surrounding the risks of climate change on agricultural productivity, fewer studies have examined risks from a whole-of-chain perspective (i.e. from producer to consumer) and the perceptions of consumers about the climate adaptation strategies of food businesses. This paper presents the findings of a survey of 1532 Australian consumers and how they might respond to a food company's climate adaptation strategy. Three respondent archetypes, ' Eco-warriors' ( n = 557), ' Undecideds' ( n = 600) and ' Abdicators' ( n = 375), were identified based on their perceptions of risks associated with climate change and their attitudes towards climate adaptation. Further analysis was carried out to understand how each group of respondents would respond to adaptation strategies employed by food companies. Based on the findings of this study, two main challenges are presented for food value chains: (1) translating consumer needs and preferences to niche opportunities arising from adaptation and (2) understanding how best to communicate adaptation benefits based on varying attitudes and information needs. By addressing these challenges, synergies between adaptation goals and competitive strategies in food value chains may be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adaptation pathways are increasingly being used as a foresight tool to help guide the implementation of climate change adaptation and deliberate transformation. This paper applies a pathways lens as a hindsight tool to provide new understanding about past change and adaptation relevant for improving future adaptation pathways approaches. Four case studies of past adaptations to change are examined: Solomon Islands Communities, Canadian forest-dependent communities, a Transylvanian village, and responses to climate adaptation policies in Australia. The results highlight that responses to change in these diverse case studies involve complex transitions that gradually create new conditions and trajectories; manifest as multiple but inter-related pathways of change and response at different social or spatial scales (e.g. different paths for different households or communities); have legacies and continuities across time that affect future pathways of change; are affected by power in complex ways; and can create further change and need for adaptation. Analyses also highlight that when working with prospective adaptation approaches as a response to climate change there is a need to consider: (1) underlying assumptions, values and principles associated with the future; (2) the existence of inter-connected multiple pathways and their implications for reinforcing existing social inequalities; and (3) how understanding past change provides inspiration for new and transformative futures. Overall, the paper concludes that shifts towards analyses for change rather than simply about change, such as adaptation pathways, will require more careful consideration of underlying ontological assumptions about the relationships between past, present and future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our paper uses a qualitative, case study approach to critically examine the role of community involvement in learning to adapt and develop resilience in the face of disaster. Within a decade, the already disadvantaged, small, Australian rural community of 'Bellbird' faced three catastrophic, human induced disasters: the Millennial Drought (1996 to 2010), a March 2013 bushfire and the COVID-19 epidemic of 2020. Our interviews were conducted during late 2019 and early 2020 with men and women shedders as well as their significant others in the usually vibrant and unusually gender inclusive 'Bellbird Men's Shed'. For at least six months following the interviews, the Bellbird Men's Shed was shut as a consequence of the COVID-19 lockdowns. We opportunistically reflect on the data from our interviews and emerging literature on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to critically interrogate the role local community learning plays in responding to and developing resilience in the face of locally experienced global disasters. We conclude that Bellbird is a good example of a small, rural community where formal, top down decision making approaches to adult and community education in 2020 in Australia are sometimes impossible or inappropriate. Bellbird in effect exercised agency to create its unique, place and needs-based form of lifelong and lifewide learning 'bottom up' at its atypical community Men's Shed. The practices and commitments the Shed adopted have provided the community with opportunities for developing personal and collective wellbeing and the necessary resilience for adapting to likely future shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We present a multi-disciplinary collaborative approach for developing a regional scale climate adaptation plan with the health and wellbeing sector. • This includes an innovative engagement and policy mapping strategy. • We demonstrate the application of this approach for developing climate change adaptation plan for health and wellbeing sector in Queensland, Australia. • We find that direct engagement between various key stakeholders is a critical element of translating scientific evidence of climate change impacts on human health into a regional adaptation policy for the health and wellbeing sector. The science of climate change and its impacts on health makes it clear that human health and wellbeing will be increasingly negatively impacted as a result of climate change. The health and wellbeing sector must respond to these growing pressures in order to continue to provide safe, quality care. Adaptation and mitigation policies need to be developed at different scales, including at a regional government level. Numerous challenges exist; for example, the necessity for collaboration between multiple agencies across scales, the tailoring of policies to the health issues specific to regions, and constraints on existing regional and local resources and adaptive capacities, to name a few. This paper presents a multi-disciplinary collaborative approach used to develop a regional scale climate adaptation plan with the health sector. Starting from a scientific understanding of climate change impact on the health sector in Queensland, Australia, the approach used an innovative engagement strategy to a) better understand awareness of relevant stakeholders about current and future climate change impact on the health of the population and on service provision, b) identify on-ground barriers to effective adaptation faced by the sector stakeholders, c) identify opportunities and benefits which would arise from adaptation, and d) identify what conditions or support stakeholders required to overcome those barriers, take advantage of opportunities, and achieve benefits from adaptation. Analysis of these findings guided the development of specific policy directions for the sector. We found direct engagement between various key stakeholders such as health service providers (e.g. hospitals), critical infrastructure providers, academics, local government authorities, and sub-sectors such as aged care and early childhood care facilities, was a critical element of translating scientific evidence of climate change impacts on human health into a regional adaptation policy for the health and wellbeing sector. The resulting policy, grounded in the reality and experience of health and wellbeing sector stakeholders, reflects their insights and concerns, and served to develop a level of sectoral 'ownership' (not 'top-down' imposition) which will be important for its successful ongoing development and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, water resource policy in the Murray–Darling Basin (Basin) has taken a pro-farmer orientation leaving the environment to become the residual claimant. Around 1990, the attention was focused on minimisingoveruse that led to on-farm productivity losses and developing a market for water to help define opportunity costs of water in irrigation. More recently, the scope has been extended to include explicit allocations for the environment. However, the failure to agree on policies for recovering water for the environment in the implementation of the Basin Plan has extended avenues for rent seeking and cost shifting, thereby raising the total costs of reform. A focus on water use per se , rather than system productivity, and sidelining of market-based approaches in preference for government investment in water recovery and water use efficiency has complicated risk assignment amongst different users. Recurring droughts and resultant scarcity of water has made negotiations further complicated and controversial, broadening the gulf between environmentalists seeking public good outcomes and irrigators seeking private profit. Despite these, the MDB system as a whole, including dryland and irrigated farming, environmental uses and other industries, has adjusted to chanding conditions, drawing on new knowledge and technology and emerging market opportunities. Irrigators have shown an ability to diversify into new commodities with better prospects for managing risks. However, declining farm numbers, a changing demography and accelerating climate change point to general failure risks if the reform process were to halt and governments disregarded the gains through a rebalancing of consumption possibilities from the full complement of Basin's resources — not just irrigation. This paper, examines the sources of social costs in water resource allocation, including pros and cons of water trading with respect to agricultural production and externalities. The aim is to canvass possible reform alternatives which might help governments to become a catalyst in fostering collaboration for efficient adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban planning has the potential to be a powerful tool for facilitating efficient and equitable adaptation to climate change-related coastal hazards ('coastal climate hazards'). However, if urban planning measures are poorly designed or implemented, it can increase costs and vulnerability, and unfairly affect the interests of particular groups. Through a case study on the coastal climate hazard planning framework in Victoria, Australia, this paper aims to illustrate how urban planning measures can lead to maladaptation and draw lessons for the future design and implementation of planning responses. Five main policy lessons are drawn from the case study. First, planning frameworks should encourage the adoption of robust approaches that are as insensitive to the uncertainties associated with coastal climate hazards as possible. Secondly, policy makers need to be mindful of the opportunity costs and equity implications of planning responses. Thirdly, to be sustainable, planning responses must be robust to social and political factors, something that can be achieved through the use of flexible approaches that allow continued use and development of land but on conditions that protect the interests of governments and communities. Fourthly, policy makers need to be mindful of transaction costs. Finally, when devolving planning responsibilities to lower levels of government, policy makers need to ensure that the objectives of planning frameworks are clear, there is minimal ambiguity in decision guidelines, and that the resourcing and capacity constraints of planning bodies are appropriately considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is anticipated to have a significant impact on coastal infrastructure, including navigational aids and ports. This paper presents the results of a vulnerability assessment of ports in Australia to climate change. Results reveal variable vulnerability in ports in the short and long term in relation to their exposure to climate change. However, this is offset by inherent adaptive capacity both in current climate change initiatives driven by ports, and in the self-confidence of the industry to be able to adapt. We conclude with a reflection on the implications of these results for future ports analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, sea-level rise is expected to impact on many coastal regions and settlements. While mitigation of global greenhouse gas emissions remains an important task, adaptation is now seen as a critical component of the policy equation. Local government is a key player in adaptation planning and managing risk through their mandated role in land use planning and development control. Yet, managing the predicted impacts of climate change is proving to be a complex and difficult task for planners and policy makers. This paper reports on a case of local government deliberation on possible planning responses to address future sea-level rise impacts in New South Wales, Australia. Using structured, expert opinion of planners and other technical experts engaged in a collaborative network in the Sydney region, we explore the feasibility of implementing planning and policy measures at the local and regional scales to respond to inundation risk as a result of sea-level rise and storm surge events. Our research shows how local governments employ specific scale-oriented strategies to engage private and public actors at different scales to manage legal, financial, and technical risks in coastal adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responding to the threat of climate change, conserving freshwater ecosystems and securing adequate energy and water supplies are among the greatest challenges facing modern societies. Yet recognition of the interdependencies between climate, energy and water policy—with resulting synergies and trade-offs—remains limited, leaving societies and governments alike vulnerable to the dangers of conflicted or unintended policy outcomes from sectoral decisions. In this paper, we analyse current Australian climate, energy and water policies to identify the risks of perverse outcomes between the three policy sectors. In doing so we categorise the conflicts and synergies between particular energy generation, carbon sequestration and water supply policies to improve understandings of the challenges facing decision makers in Australia and internationally. Four types of interventions are identified that would enable integration and optimisation of policies, namely: better cross-sectoral knowledge to inform decisions; the identification of technologies with co-benefits; markets with broader cross-sectoral participation (including linking water and carbon markets); and better-integrated governance institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Burnout and intolerance of uncertainty have been linked to low job satisfaction and lower quality patient care. While resilience is related to these concepts, no study has examined these three concepts in a cohort of doctors. The objective of this study was to measure resilience, burnout, compassion satisfaction, personal meaning in patient care and intolerance of uncertainty in Australian general practice (GP) registrars. Methods: We conducted a paper-based cross-sectional survey of GP registrars in Australia from June to July 2010, recruited from a newsletter item or registrar education events. Survey measures included the Resilience Scale-14, a single-item scale for burnout, Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) scale, Personal Meaning in Patient Care scale, Intolerance of Uncertainty-12 scale, and Physician Response to Uncertainty scale. Results: 128 GP registrars responded (response rate 90%). Fourteen percent of registrars were found to be at risk of burnout using the single-item scale for burnout, but none met the criteria for burnout using the ProQOL scale. Secondary traumatic stress, general intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety due to clinical uncertainty and reluctance to disclose uncertainty to patients were associated with being at higher risk of burnout, but sex, age, practice location, training duration, years since graduation, and reluctance to disclose uncertainty to physicians were not. Only ten percent of registrars had high resilience scores. Resilience was positively associated with compassion satisfaction and personal meaning in patient care. Resilience was negatively associated with burnout, secondary traumatic stress, inhibitory anxiety, general intolerance to uncertainty, concern about bad outcomes and reluctance to disclose uncertainty to patients. Conclusions: GP registrars in this survey showed a lower level of burnout than in other recent surveys of the broader junior doctor population in both Australia and overseas. Resilience was also lower than might be expected of a satisfied and professionally successful cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural production landscapes in Australia are experiencing a rapid rate of change as a result of, among other factors, climate change, biodiversity loss and changing societal values. Consequently, there is increasing pressure on producers to increase their sustainability. Understanding how producers perceive themselves in the context of this changing landscape is limited but important for the design of policy effective for achieving sustainability. This paper is based on a case study in the north-eastern Australian rangelands that included face-to-face interviews with 28 beef producers and a telephone survey with another 91 producers. The study investigated male and female beef producers' self-perceived roles in life through a lens of different farming discourses and the relationship between these roles and beliefs aligned with sustainability. Results revealed that although producers' self-percieved roles in life were being constructed through a mix of more or less ‘traditional’ discourses, tradition was still a strong influence. Producers who strongly identified with roles linked to ‘less traditional’ discourses were more likely than those who strongly identified with production-orientated roles to agree with beliefs that favoured nature conservation, learning and adapting to change. Increased opportunities for producers to participate in alternative discourses would appear important for fostering a self-identity that is open to learning, difference and change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncertainty around long-term droughts and water scarcity has been increasing as the impacts of El Nino cycles are felt globally. Understanding how the effects of these events are manifested on the ground in communities is particularly important if governments and associated agencies are to respond appropriately. Using a qualitative approach, this paper examines the impacts of drought on two rural towns in Victoria, Australia, and explores what lessons can be drawn from local experiences. The research suggests that previous responses to drought by governments have been largely ineffectual and as such, we question whether there is a need to reshape institutional understandings of what adapting to drought might mean. This research, therefore, seeks to further the discussion surrounding drought impacts and the myriad of challenges associated with it by drawing on locally situated knowledge to inform future decision-making in this evolving field of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Research examining the construction industry demonstrates that it is the source of a large percentage of global greenhouse gas emissions, subject to future climate change risks, and that there is limited evidence of adaptation. This paper explores the preparedness of the Australian construction industry to adapt to climate change risks, through twenty-one key stakeholder interviews. The interviews addressed participants' perceptions of the industry's: climate change risk awareness, analytical capacity to address climate change risk, and current actions to address these risks. The main risk participants identified was extreme weather during construction (e.g. heat and wind) with impacts for occupational health and safety, supply chain reliability, project delivery delays, and profit. The impact of these risks was somewhat down played. While a high level of perceived analytical capacity to respond to climate change was observed, real action was limited by systemic, outdated regulations, lack of client motivation, and perceived costs. The climate change actions which were undertaken were predominantly climate change mitigation activities, largely focussing on organisational processes, rather than adaptations to built form. The results indicate that if Australia's built form is to be well adapted to climate change, greater preparedness to facilitate tangible and systemic actions to address climate change risk in the Australian construction industry is needed. Specifically, interviewees responses imply that increased awareness of the impacts of climate change, better translation of existing solutions into practice, and regulatory reform are needed. Highlights • Climate change preparedness of the Australian construction industry was investigated. • Main risks identified - extreme weather impacts to: worker safety, supply chain reliability, project delays, profit. • High level of perceived analytical capacity to respond to climate change observed. • Action limited due to: outdated regulations, lack of client motivation, perceived costs. • Greater climate change preparedness is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified Australia as among the developed nations most at risk from climate change effects. Key tourism icon destinations and the tourism sector generally have been identified as being particularly at risk. This paper reports on an interdisciplinary, multi-case study approach to assess tourism stakeholders' knowledge of, and approaches to, climate change adaptation and to explore the potential for building a self-assessment toolkit that can be exported to other tourism destinations. This study examined existing knowledge on anticipated biophysical changes and, through primary research (stakeholder interviews and social learning workshops), gauged the expected adaptive approaches of destination communities and the tourism sector to these changes for 2020, 2050 and 2070. The facilitated workshops generated a common set of adaptation strategies across a diverse set of tourist destinations. A key finding from the workshops is that the tourism sector is not yet ready to invest in climate change adaptation because of the perceived uncertainties. Ongoing leadership for such measures were seen to rest with the public sector, especially local authorities. Whether such assessments can be self-generated or require specialist facilitation remains open to debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Men residing in rural areas are less likely to participate in weight management interventions than women, and few men-specific programs target rural areas. Aussie-Fans in Training (Aussie-FIT) is an evidence-based weight management intervention that uses professional Australian Football club affiliations and settings as a 'hook' to engage urban-residing men. The aim of this study is to report on how findings from rural stakeholder focus groups were used to inform the adaptation of Aussie-FIT for implementation in rural areas. Methods: Seven focus groups with stakeholders (n = 24) in three rural towns explored existing weight management and physical activity provisions, barriers and facilitators to engaging men, and considerations for adapting Aussie-FIT for implementation in rural contexts. Qualitative data were analysed using the framework approach. Adaptations made to the Aussie-FIT program and strategies to implement the program in rural contexts were reported using a structured framework. Results: Themes generated from our analysis include limited appealing services for men, Australian Football as a 'common language', the influence of the 'smaller fishpond'(population), considerations for program inclusivity, and the importance of local partner organisations for sustainability. We adapted the recruitment and marketing strategies, delivery settings, football program theme and partnerships for rural implementation. Stakeholders advised that an Australian Football program theme without specific local club affiliations would be important to avoid alienating men with differing club allegiances or non-sporting backgrounds. A multi-component recruitment strategy utilising local trusted sources, and program marketing that aligns with masculine ideals were considered important by stakeholders in small communities where 'people talk'. Conclusions: Rural areas were described as 'a different ball game' due to limited local services and resources in comparison to metropolitan areas. Study findings have synergies with previous studies undertaken in rural contexts including in relation to the power of word of mouth, the importance of trust, and local partner organisations. Findings have implications for engaging rural men in health interventions in rural contexts where professional sporting contexts are not available. Assessing the extent to which the adapted Aussie-FIT program can reach and engage men in rural Australia, and exploring the barriers and facilitators to delivering the program in rural contexts is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lentil production in arable, Mediterranean-type climates is limited by acute high temperature (HT) commonly occurring during the reproductive stage. With changing climate and greater weather extremes, there is a need to increase the HT tolerance of lentil to sustain production, and global germplasm provides adaptation opportunities. The current study assessed 81 genotypes for HT tolerance from a range of global climatic zones. Field screening of germplasm was undertaken over two consecutive years (2014 and 2015), in southern Australia, using a late-sowing approach, which included a subset of 22 genotypes that were screened in both years. Partially shaded temperature treatments within a split-plot arrangement were used to generate two different HT profiles. Stress indices, i.e., the yield stability index (YSI), the stress tolerance index (STI), and a third proposed high-temperature tolerance index (HTTI), were applied to rank the HT tolerance of germplasm. In 2014, under field conditions associated with natural temperature ranges that were favorable for screening, the following five landraces with increased temperature tolerance were identified: AGG 73838, AGG 70118, AGG 70951, AGG 70156, and AGG 70549. Among the 10 commercial varieties tested, one variety (i.e., cv. Nipper) was observed to have HT tolerance. For the YSI, which had the greatest amount of consistency in response across the 2 years (11 of the 22 genotypes), there were two genotypes (AGG 71457 and Nipper) which maintained their yield stability. These results demonstrate the opportunity that germplasm provides to improve the adaptation of lentil to HT. Ultimately, the late-sowing approach is one possible methodology to integrate into contemporary breeding programs for improving adaptation of lentil within Mediterranean-type environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing environmental disasters are creating significant uncertainty for farm families and their communities across the world. One site critically affected is the Murray-Darling Basin area of Australia, an area known as the food bowl of Australia. Following a lengthy drought at the turn of the century concerns were raised about water quality and river health. This led successive governments to introduce policies to systematically reduce water available for irrigated agriculture. The Murray-Darling Basin Plan was developed by the Commonwealth government and is designed to secure water savings from irrigators and to direct those water savings to the stressed natural environment. This paper focuses on the impact of these changes on irrigation dairy families and their communities in northern Victoria. Using a model designed to test the limits to adaptation, we draw out the constraints, limits and barriers to adaptation for dairy families and their communities coping with reduced water access. This model highlights the types of socially just and fair interventions necessary to assist adaptation and focuses attention on thresholds and traps that may prevent adaptation. The model is relevant to other areas where climate changes and environmental disasters are shaping inevitable change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although planning and policy instruments are important for climate change adaptation, the implementation of these measures is critical for success. This paper studies different climate change adaptation strategies by analysing the measures adopted by stakeholders in charge of government policy development and implementation to minimise the impacts of climate change in the northern tropical region of Queensland, Australia. Local government organisations are responsible for taking a leading role in climate change adaptation. State and commonwealth government agencies are primarily responsible for developing climate transition policies and guidelines, as well as providing limited financial aid to help support the local government. Interviews were conducted with local government practitioners identified from different local government authorities in the study region. Although all the government bodies made some progress in developing better climate change adaptation policies, the interview participants identified that a lot more needs to be done, especially in implementation, including devising and the application of relevant action plans, economic assessments, stakeholder participations and engagement. From a local government practitioners' viewpoint, both the water sector and local economy will face the highest immediate impacts if climate change adaptation actions are not adequately implemented at local government level in the study region. There are currently no notable legal bindings to address climate change risks in the region. In addition, financial liability assessments due to climate risks and cost-share mechanisms among different levels of stakeholders and government authorities to face and prepare for climate change impacts hardly exist. Although the interview respondents recognise their high importance. As there are uncertainties in the achievements of climate change adaptation plans, from a local government practitioners' standpoint, the local authorities should take appropriate actions to integrate adaptation and mitigation works to face and prepare for climate risks rather than focusing only on adaptation. The respondents informed that some work has been done to identify flood prone areas and a few policy documents exist that accommodate sea level rise in planning practice, but these are done in fragments with no holistic implementation, monitoring or evaluation plans put in place. • Climate change adaptation actions are urgently needed. • The priorities and perceptions of government professionals are key to success. • Stakeholders needs to be engaged to formulate adaptation strategies. • Holistic implementation, monitoring or evaluation plans are important for success. • Climate change adaptation and mitigation measures are suggested to be integrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To establish national prevalence of child maltreatment, reliable, valid and contextually appropriate measurement is needed. This paper outlines the refinement, adaptation and testing of child maltreatment sections of the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ)-R2 for use in the Australian context. Three phases were undertaken: 1) Conceptual analysis of the five forms of child maltreatment (physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, neglect, and experience of domestic violence), item mapping and review, item development, and independent expert review; 2) Cognitive testing with members of the general population, and individuals who have experienced maltreatment; and 3) Pilot testing and quantitative psychometric assessment with a random sample of Australians aged 16–65+ years. The final measure included a total of 17 child maltreatment screener items, assessing Physical Abuse (2 items), Sexual abuse (5 items (including 2 non-contact items and 3 contact items), Emotional Abuse (3 items), Neglect (3 items), and Experience of Domestic Violence (4 items). Screener items were also included on corporal punishment (1 item), and internet sexual victimization (2 items). The final 17-item revised JVQ had high face and conceptual validity and good internal reliability (α = 0.86 and Ω = 0.87). Test re-test reliability was moderate to high for individual screeners ranging from k = 0.45 to 0.89. Results indicate the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire-R2: Adapted Version (Australian Child Maltreatment Study) is a suitable instrument for assessing population-wide prevalence of maltreatment. It is congruent with conceptual models of maltreatment and shows good reliability and validity in this Australian sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic had an unprecedented global effect on teaching and education. This review discusses research, education and diagnostics from the perspectives of four academic clinicians and researchers across different facilities in Australia. Materials and methods: The study adopted a literature review and an Australian researcher's perspective on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health education, research and diagnostics. Results: At the start of the pandemic, medical facilities had to adhere urgently to major work restrictions, including social distancing, mask-wearing rules and/or the closure of facilities to protect staff, students and patients from the risk of COVID-19 infection. Telemedicine and telehealth services were rapidly implemented and adapted to meet the needs of medical education, the teaching of students, trainee doctors, nursing and allied health staff and became a widely accepted norm. The impact on clinical research and education saw the closure of clinical trials and the implementation of new methods in the conducting of trials, including electronic consents, remote patient assessments and the ability to commence fully virtual clinical trials. Academic teaching adapted augmented reality and competency-based teaching to become important new modes of education delivery. Diagnostic services also required new policies and procedures to ensure the safety of personnel. Conclusions: As a by-product of the COVID-19 pandemic, traditional, face-to-face learning and clinical research were converted into online formats. An hybrid environment of traditional methods and novel technological tools has emerged in readiness for future pandemics that allows for virtual learning with concurrent recognition of the need to provide for interpersonal interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant number of university students are leaving their institutions before completing their degrees. The present research project applied embeddedness theory, from organizational research, to understand student retention in a tertiary student population, and develop a quantitative instrument that measured university student embeddedness. In Study One, a mixed-methods approach was employed to determine whether the Fit (similarity between the student and the university), Links (count of relationships at university), and Sacrifice (losses upon leaving university) dimensions of embeddedness related to students' self-reported reasons for remaining enrolled at their university. Qualitative results from 15 undergraduate students indicated that intent to remain could be understood within the embeddedness dimensions of Fit, Links, and Sacrifice. These themes were employed to build the University Student Embeddedness (USE) scale. The measure was examined against Rasch measurement model assumptions for each of its subscales using data collected from 299 Australian tertiary students. Study Two sought to examine exploratory evidence of the concurrent validity of the scores from this developed measure. Responses from a separate sample of 196 Australian tertiary students showed only the Fit scale significantly related to student intentions to stay at university. All USE scales correlated with academic-related skills and motivations. These results suggest that the Fit scale may be valuable in identifying students at risk of dropout. Early identification of "at risk" students may lead to the development of targeted retention interventions. However, the USE's role in detection requires further validation and the development of consistent findings within other student cohorts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses a very important issue in Australian rural and remote regions: the effects of climate change on various aspects including natural resources, agricultural activity, population health, and social and economic development. The objective is to briefly characterise the consequences of climate change in rural Australia and what we can do to prevent further impact in our rural communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia, and particularly the Murray–Darling Basin (MDB), has the most mature and adopted water markets globally. Water trading is an important policy tool to deal with water scarcity issues, demonstrating allocative, dynamic and productive efficiency benefits. At the same time, water markets have been controversial in Australia. Markets have been blamed for a range of issues, including claims of unsustainability, inequity, farm bankruptcy, farmer distress and farm exit. This study reviews the MDB water trade literature and finds little evidence to support such myths. Arguably, the biggest misconception is that critics do not separate water markets from the meta‐governance institutional structures that define them. Perceived water market failures are often due to governance issues – not water trade per se. This is not to say that market failure does not exist, it does, and indeed, there are also serious distributional issues that need addressing (e.g., water property entitlements for indigenous stakeholders). As such, water market design and governance need to adapt and evolve as problems arise and the market matures. However, in an era of increasing water scarcity, enabling water trade remains one of the most important instruments available to assist in water sharing, reallocation and farm adaptation to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, areas of high-quality wildlife habitat of significant environmental value are at risk of permanent damage from climate change. These areas represent social-ecological systems that will require increasing management intervention to maintain their biological and socio-cultural values. Managers of protected areas have begun to recognize the inevitability of ecosystem change and the need to embrace dynamic approaches to intervention. However, significant uncertainty remains about the onset and severity of some impacts, which makes planning difficult. For Indigenous communities, there are intrinsic links between cultural heritage and the conservation of place and biodiversity that need to be better integrated in protected area planning and management. In New South Wales, Australia, management of public conservation reserves and national parks is the responsibility of a State government agency, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). This paper describes the outcomes of a participatory planning process with NPWS staff to, firstly, identify the options available, the available 'tool kit', to manage biodiversity and cultural heritage in protected areas; secondly, explore how the selection of management actions from the 'tool kit' is associated with the level of climate risk to biodiversity or cultural heritage assets; and thirdly, to understand how the form of individual management actions might adapt to changes in climate risk. Combining these three elements into a series of risk-based, adaptive pathways for conservation of biodiversity and cultural heritage is a novel approach that is currently supporting place-based planning for public conservation areas. Incorporation of the trade-offs and synergies in seeking to effectively manage these discrete but related types of values and the implications for conservation practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quinoa is being evaluated in cropping systems in many countries outside of its natural range of South America. Very few attempts have been made by farmers or researchers to grow or evaluate quinoa under Australian environments. Given the growing popularity of quinoa with consumers, new commercial opportunities for farmers and international interest in the crop, it was timely to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the potential of quinoa in Australia. Two advanced selections and nine germplasm lines (six of Chilean and three of Bolivian origin) identified in an earlier project were tested in 23 field trials at 14 locations on mainland Australia. Targets included irrigated sites in tropical, Mediterranean, semi-arid and desert climates, and rain-fed sites of south-western Australia with a Mediterranean climate. The field experiments were either a randomised complete block design (RBCD) or a split plot/factorial design with 2–4 replicates, and a linear mixed model was used to compare the treatment lines. Seed yield of quinoa was highest when grown in winter and spring under rain-fed conditions in Geraldton, in spring and summer under irrigation at Bool Lagoon, and summer, autumn and winter under irrigation at Leeton. The highest seed yield achieved was 3 t/ha for a germplasm line from Chile, while the highest yield for a germplasm line from Bolivia was 2.6 t/ha. Advanced selections from Australia yielded well in comparison at most trial sites. Declining seed yield was associated with mean daily temperatures during seed development increasing above 17 °C, mean daily temperatures during flowering declining below 15 °C, and rainfall during seed development under rain-fed conditions falling below 50 mm. Seed produced at Bool Lagoon was the closest in colour to white quinoa imported from Peru; however, it was more than noticeably different. Seed produced at Geraldton and Leeton was significantly larger than from other field sites; however, none were larger than 2 mm in diameter as found in Royal white quinoa from Bolivia. Superior seed colour and seed size were associated with dry conditions at maturity and cool conditions during seed development, respectively. We conclude that quinoa can become a potential crop option for Australian agriculture by exploiting genetic diversity and supplementing with suitable management practices matched to agro-climatic environments. There are reasonable prospects to raise the seed yield potential in areas in all states, especially in the regions where quinoa grew well in our experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine-oriented nature-based tourism plays an important socio-economic role, and provides an incentive for conservation in many coastal regions. However, accelerating global change, and the associated socio-economic and political change may have severe consequences for marine tourism at the local level. Thus, understanding the ability of sectors within marine tourism to cope with, and adapt to, change is paramount. Private sector enterprises are key players in marine tourism and their capacity to adapt to change will vary across socio-economic and governance contexts. Thus, the resilience of these enterprises (their ability to adapt to, and continue to function under changing pressures and circumstances) is critical for the future of the marine tourism sector more broadly. This paper examines how socioeconomic and governance contexts influence the resilience of coral reef tourism enterprises in three settings: the formal and informal sector in Phuket, Thailand and enterprises on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Although there are differences between the three groups of enterprises, lifestyle factors, human capital, perceived reef condition, and government support are associated with the resilience of enterprises across all three groups. These findings suggest that policy-makers should consider enterprise lifestyle benefits, and that a nuanced understanding of marine tourism enterprises is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic pain is associated with significant costs to individuals directly affected by this condition, their families, the healthcare system, and the society as a whole. This paper investigates the relationship between chronic pain and life satisfaction using a sample of around 90,000 observations from the first ten waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics of Australia Survey (HILDA), which is a representative survey of the Australian population that started in 2000. We estimate the negative impact on life satisfaction and examine the persistence of the effect over multiple years. Chronic pain is associated with poor health conditions, disability, decreased participation in the labour market and lower quality of life. We calculate the compensating income variation of chronic pain, based on the measurement of chronic pain, the life satisfaction of individuals and the income of households. Panel data models with random and fixed effects are used to control for characteristics of individuals that do not vary over time. Further, we investigate whether individuals who experience chronic pain exhibit adaptation and recovery in life satisfaction after 3 years. Overall, we find that chronic pain has a large negative association with life satisfaction, and that the compensating income variation is substantial (around 640 US$ per day). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]