Beyond Drought: People, Policy and Perspectives

The unpredictability of Australia’s climate poses real challenges for practices that were developed based on the relative predictability of a European climate. More recently, policy has been moving towards accepting drought as a reality, rejecting the notion that it is a natural disaster in favour of an approach based on risk management.

However, the level of public debate during a drought event suggests that this policy approach has not been widely understood or accepted. Media reporting o...