2007 Fellows' Colloquium, Annual Symposium, Cunningham Lecture and Annual General Meeting

Power, People, Water:
Urban Water Services & Human Behaviour in Australia

19 - 21 November 2007
Shine Dome & University House, Australian National University.

C A N B E R R A

19 November (7.30pm - 9.00pm): Fellows' Colloquium.
20 November (9.00am - 7.00pm): Annual Symposium and Cunningham Lecture.
21 November (9.00am - 1.00pm): Annual General Meeting.

Fellows' Colloquium - 19 November
(For Academy Fellows Only)

Social Science Research: making our research count.
7.30pm - 9.00pm: The Drawing Room, University House, Australian National University.

Symposium 2007 - 20 November
(Open to the Public)

Shine Dome, Gordon Street, Acton

The situation that faced the urban centres of the Australian colonies in the mid-nineteenth century was one of unhealthy centres with poor and unreliable supplies of potable water, insanitary conditions that threatened health, difficulties in dealing with disposal of human and other wastes of urbanisation, poor drainage of storm water, lack of adequate water supplies to fight fires. Our current situation is improved in some ways, but aggravated in others. The need to change some aspects of individual/household behaviour, coupled with policy driven incentives can provide solutions to current and future needs for potable and non-potable water.

The Symposium is designed on the understanding that there are annual and seasonal variations in demand for and supply of water services in urban areas and is designed to seek a better understanding of the management of water services in times of scarcity as well as comparative water-affluence. The Symposium also acknowledges that the changing nature of city form and structure inevitably influences and is influenced by the way water services are provided.

In addition, the Symposium is cognizant of major environmental problems presently confronting Australian cities, including environmental stresses on ecosystems from which water is abstracted for delivery to them, the ecosystems into which waste waters are discharged and the contribution of stormwater runoff as a major source of pollution of the rivers, bays and harbours on which Australian cities are built.

The Symposium will contribute to identifying opportunities to develop urban water systems that are environmentally sustainable, economically feasible, socially equitable and meet public health imperatives.

DRAFT Program

9.00 – 9.10	Welcome	Professor Stuart Macintyre , President of ASSA
9.10 - 9.15	Brief Context	Professor Patrick Troy, Australian National University
9.15 - 9.20	National Water Commission Overview	Ken Matthews (tbc)
Session 1 The supply of potable water and waste management services A supply of potable water is crucial to the health and future of Australian cities. The history of its provision was one of ‘big engineering', inter-basin transfer, and dependence on a complex of local and state government authorities. The demands of sanitation, waste management and increased consumerism has resulted in a sharp secular increase in the use of potable water. New and emerging technologies that avoid or moderate the use of potable water can be complemented by changes in consumer behaviour.
9.20 - 9.35	Professor Tony Dingle, Monash University
9.35 - 9.50	Professor Peter Spearritt, University of Queensland
9.50 – 10.50	Discussion
10.50 – 11.25	Morning Tea
Session 2 Socio-cultural and behavioural determinants of consumption Socio-cultural changes in attitudes to ‘dirt', bodily cleanliness and the transformation of bathrooms from a functional space to a site of leisure and pleasure, the rise in consumerism, increased use of water using equipment and the commodification of water have all led to increased water consumption inside the dwelling. External consumption has also increased and been affected by socio-cultural attitudes to gardening, the garden as a site for leisure and pleasure and the effect of garden city notions on the Australian city.
11.25 - 11.40	Professor Graeme Davison, Monash University
11.40– 11.55	Professor Lesley Head, University of Wollongong
11.55 – 12.55	Discussion
1.00 - 2.00	Lunch
Session 3 The politics of water services and the culture of supply institutions . The growth of cities and their increasing demand for water services has raised the issue of the politics, powers and cultures of the institutions supplying water services in the public debate. The transformation of water supply authorities from ‘public health' authorities funded and managed by the communities they serve to agencies providing water services in a more market oriented environment has meant that their activities may be subordinated to government budget strategies and or subjected to corporatisation and privatisation.
2.00 - 2.15	Professor Steve Dovers, Australian National University
2.15 - 2.30	Dr Geoff Syme, CSIRO Land and Water
2.30 - 3.00	Discussion
3.00 - 3:30	Afternoon Tea
Session 4 Individual rights to water and the public interest Property rights and the development of inalienable individual rights to water for life contend with the compulsory services of water supply, sewerage and drainage provided at minimal cost by monopoly public utility suppliers on grounds of protection of the public interest. In the minds of consumers, public-private partnerships stand uneasily with the perceived rights of individuals to safe, good quality water services. How should the rights of individuals be assured at a cost that they are willing to pay? What is the role of legal regulation and of water pricing in managing water services and reducing environmental stresses?
3:30 - 3:45	Janice Gray (University of New South Wales) & Alex Gardner (Australian National University)
3:45– 4.00	Lee Godden, University of Melbourne
4.00 - 4:30	Discussion
4:45 - 5:30	President's Drinks at the Dome

Cunningham Lecture
(Open to the Public)

Topic to be advised

20 November (5.30pm - 6.30pm): Shine Dome.

Annual General Meeting - 21 November
(For Academy Fellows Only)

9.00 - 10.45: Panel Meetings (University House, Australian National University)

10.45- 1.00: Annual General Meeting (Shine Dome, Gordon Street, Acton)

1.00: Close. Complimentary lunch will be provided after the AGM.