Trade and investment in the face of declining international cooperation. This project aims to investigate the impact and policy implications of trade and investment policies in a world trade system facing increasing uncertainty. The project intends to gain an improved understanding of investment regulations like Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) agreements and their impact on trade and foreign direct investment. Expected outcomes include new theories for the breakdown of international agr ....Trade and investment in the face of declining international cooperation. This project aims to investigate the impact and policy implications of trade and investment policies in a world trade system facing increasing uncertainty. The project intends to gain an improved understanding of investment regulations like Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) agreements and their impact on trade and foreign direct investment. Expected outcomes include new theories for the breakdown of international agreements and their effects on third world countries as well as empirical methods that allow for a quantification of the welfare and employment effects of investment policies like ISDS. This project should provide benefits by informing government policy makers to improve Australia’s trade and investment policies.Read moreRead less
Setting Priorities for Services Trade Reform. Services could be a deal maker in the Doha Round of trade negotiations, and Australia has much to gain if developing countries can be persuaded to make commercially meaningful commitments to liberalise services trade. Australia will also gain if the economies of the region are strengthened through regulatory reform. And Australia can gain from further regulatory reform at home. To these ends, the project will provide new understanding of regulatory b ....Setting Priorities for Services Trade Reform. Services could be a deal maker in the Doha Round of trade negotiations, and Australia has much to gain if developing countries can be persuaded to make commercially meaningful commitments to liberalise services trade. Australia will also gain if the economies of the region are strengthened through regulatory reform. And Australia can gain from further regulatory reform at home. To these ends, the project will provide new understanding of regulatory best practice that will reveal the priorities for services trade reform. Read moreRead less
Economic Diplomacy and National Prosperity. This project aims to examine the effectiveness of economic diplomacy in contributing to Australia’s exports and inflow of foreign investment. The government’s economic diplomacy agenda guides a substantial portion of the activity of the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). With the collaboration of DFAT, the project will develop a dataset to capture characteristics of Australia’s diplomatic sector, export and foreign di ....Economic Diplomacy and National Prosperity. This project aims to examine the effectiveness of economic diplomacy in contributing to Australia’s exports and inflow of foreign investment. The government’s economic diplomacy agenda guides a substantial portion of the activity of the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). With the collaboration of DFAT, the project will develop a dataset to capture characteristics of Australia’s diplomatic sector, export and foreign direct investment ; use a gravity model to identify the determinants of trade and investment through diplomacy for Australia; and estimate the benefits to specific export industries. The project aims to also inform DFAT’s resource allocation, risk management and to assist advocacy in the public domain on trade and investment issues.Read moreRead less
Nature futures: mapping pathways to prosperity for people and nature. Population growth, consumption and trade are direct socio-economic drivers of land use change and climate change, which determine where species can persist. The UN Sustainable Development Goals and national policies acknowledge the dependence of people on nature and the impact of socio-economic drivers on nature. However, few analyses of impacts on nature explicitly incorporate socio-economic drivers. Utilising a novel modelli ....Nature futures: mapping pathways to prosperity for people and nature. Population growth, consumption and trade are direct socio-economic drivers of land use change and climate change, which determine where species can persist. The UN Sustainable Development Goals and national policies acknowledge the dependence of people on nature and the impact of socio-economic drivers on nature. However, few analyses of impacts on nature explicitly incorporate socio-economic drivers. Utilising a novel modelling framework and high-performance computing we will integrate economic, land use and biodiversity models to evaluate: (i) policies and incentives for increasing national vegetation cover for carbon sequestration and habitat, and (ii) global risks to nature posed by land use change under future geopolitical scenarios.Read moreRead less
Development of Novel Pesticidal Agents. We have discovered a family of naturally occurring plant proteins called the cyclotides that have potent insecticidal activity against Helicoverpa species, one of the major pests on cotton and corn in Australia and world wide. Preliminary evidence has shown that they also have activity against major pests to livestock in Australia, including sheep blowflies. To develop these proteins as potential pesticidal agents it is necessary to understand the struct ....Development of Novel Pesticidal Agents. We have discovered a family of naturally occurring plant proteins called the cyclotides that have potent insecticidal activity against Helicoverpa species, one of the major pests on cotton and corn in Australia and world wide. Preliminary evidence has shown that they also have activity against major pests to livestock in Australia, including sheep blowflies. To develop these proteins as potential pesticidal agents it is necessary to understand the structural basis for their activity. We will do this by chemically synthesising peptides with selected residues mutated to determine their effects on activity.Read moreRead less
Marine Natural Products as Sources of Agrochemicals - The Variolins. The aim of this project is the identification of new classes of agrochemicals with better pest resistance and environmental profiles. The proposed partnership with a major international chemical manufacturing organization will allow access to state-of-the-art techniques for the screening and development of novel compounds as agents for the control of pests that affect many major agricultural crops relevant to Australia's econo ....Marine Natural Products as Sources of Agrochemicals - The Variolins. The aim of this project is the identification of new classes of agrochemicals with better pest resistance and environmental profiles. The proposed partnership with a major international chemical manufacturing organization will allow access to state-of-the-art techniques for the screening and development of novel compounds as agents for the control of pests that affect many major agricultural crops relevant to Australia's economy. Australian graduate students will experience the operations of one of the world's biggest chemical manufacturers. The derivation of agrochemicals from marine sources will promote further recognition of the value of marine ecosystems around Australia.Read moreRead less
Australia and the European Union: A study of a changing trade and business relationship. The project deepens understanding of the evolution of Australia-EU bilateral relations, and the EU's significant contribution to the Australian economy. It informs public debate and official dialogues in Australia and Europe about the ways in which the relationship may be fostered in future. Project findings contribute an understanding of the common ground and mutual support of Australia and the EU in intern ....Australia and the European Union: A study of a changing trade and business relationship. The project deepens understanding of the evolution of Australia-EU bilateral relations, and the EU's significant contribution to the Australian economy. It informs public debate and official dialogues in Australia and Europe about the ways in which the relationship may be fostered in future. Project findings contribute an understanding of the common ground and mutual support of Australia and the EU in international organisations such as WTO, and the further development of Australian and EU policies that will benefit bilateral trade and investment in both Australia and the EU. The research results will inform Australian government agencies in identifying policy options for further constructive relationships between Australia and the EU.Read moreRead less
Preventing and addressing environmental harm through restorative justice. This project aims to develop a knowledge base on how Restorative Justice (RJ) principles and practices can prevent and address environmental harm. Research has demonstrated that RJ is a powerful response to a wide variety of governance challenges and could provide a useful alternative paradigm for environmental regulation. This project aims to apply the processes and values of RJ to environmental regulation with a focus on ....Preventing and addressing environmental harm through restorative justice. This project aims to develop a knowledge base on how Restorative Justice (RJ) principles and practices can prevent and address environmental harm. Research has demonstrated that RJ is a powerful response to a wide variety of governance challenges and could provide a useful alternative paradigm for environmental regulation. This project aims to apply the processes and values of RJ to environmental regulation with a focus on harm prevention, advancing theory into a new domain of application. This should lead to immediate and long-term benefits, including better prevention of environmental harm, better relationships with communities, and stronger commitments by those who have caused harm to rehabilitate, repair and reform.Read moreRead less
South Asian and East Asian economic integration and Australia: strategies for Asian regional cooperation. Australia has a vital interest in India's rise, its impact on South Asia's development and its integration with South and East Asia. The limited knowledge and the thinness of the intellectual base and institutional connections that would allow us to manage our interests in this event effectively mean that Australia is not yet well positioned to influence the forces and the thinking that will ....South Asian and East Asian economic integration and Australia: strategies for Asian regional cooperation. Australia has a vital interest in India's rise, its impact on South Asia's development and its integration with South and East Asia. The limited knowledge and the thinness of the intellectual base and institutional connections that would allow us to manage our interests in this event effectively mean that Australia is not yet well positioned to influence the forces and the thinking that will drive the process. Moving to explore the phenomenon of South Asia's development and aspirations in Asia and globally, is now a priority for Australia as other economies move to take up the opportunities that are unfolding from this development. This is a ground-breaking project that will address these deficiencies.Read moreRead less
Development of environmentally-friendly bioinsecticides for control of Australian crop pests. Insect pests cause over $3 billion of damage each year to Australian crops. Current insecticides are becoming less effective, and they often have adverse environmental impacts. This project aims to develop a new generation of environmentally-friendly insecticides that can be used to control insect pests on farms and around the home and garden.