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Policy Problem of Sustainable Water Use in Western Australia

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Policy Problem of Sustainable Water Use in Western Australia THE ‘WICKED’ POLICY PROBLEM OF SUSTAINABLE WATER USE IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA ANNA CIUPPA BA (Geography) with First Class Honours (Edith Cowan University) Graduate Certificate of Research Commercialisation (Curtin University of Technology) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Politics Newcastle Business School Faculty of Business and Law University of Newcastle Australia December 2015 1 STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY: The thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text. I give consent to the final version of my thesis being made available worldwide when deposited in the University’s Digital Repository, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Anna Ciuppa December 2015. 2 DEDICATION: This thesis is dedicated to my parents, János Reis (1928-1961) and Apollonia Reis (nee Reitmayer) (1927-2008) for their unselfish devotion to family and their emphasis on the importance of a good education. It is also dedicated to my husband Anthony, daughter Bernadette, son Salvatore, daughter-in-law Danielle, and their children Breesha, Zazabella, Tiffany and Zavier for their patience and understanding throughout my Doctor of Philosophy journey. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This thesis would not have been completed without the assistance and support of my Principal Supervisor Dr Robert Imre, University of Newcastle (UoN). Disappointment is all you feel when your Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) discipline becomes a discontinued major. Once Edith Cowan University (ECU) removed Geography from their Arts program I lost my Principal Supervisor and could no longer complete my PhD thesis at ECU. Instead of procrastinating I contacted Dr Imre (Rob) who had originally reviewed my PhD proposal. Unhesitatingly, Rob assured me that I could complete my unfinished thesis at any University and suggested that it may be a good idea to apply to UoN to finish it under his supervision. Retrospectively, I may have just given up were it not for the excellent advice Rob proffered. Once UoN accepted my application Rob’s endless patience and steely eyed determination kept me on the right path to completion. Although, many PhD students’ acknowledgements contain praise for their Principal Supervisors I can only emphasise that this thesis was completed due to Rob’s encouraging efforts. Encouragement and empowerment are just empty words unless they are backed up by a Principal Supervisor who practices professional integrity, sincerity and accessibility, despite the tyranny of distance. Thanks and praise must also go to my A/Supervisor, Associate Professor Jim Jose whose excellent support, advice and attention-to-detail skills assisted with the editing, and completion of the final draft. I must also thank the world-renown and academically respected University of Newcastle for accepting my study. It is a privilege to be part of a University that is ranked in the top three per cent in the world. Another compelling reason why I completed this study was to dedicate it to my parents János and Apollonia who over-embellished every childhood scholastic result I achieved. They valued a good education so I knew that I could never give up, it was never an option; a lesson learnt from their herculean efforts at good parenting. Special thanks must go to my husband Anthony and my children Bernadette and Sal, my daughter-in-law Danielle, my beautiful grandchildren, Breesha, Zazabella, Tiffany, Zavier and my brother Peter Reis and his family. I greatly appreciated their unlimited support and patience during my long absences undertaking research and writing. I would also like to express my sincerest thanks to my niece Benedetta, a special friend, who never doubted me when I encountered thesis problems and delays; she just kept reminding me that I could do it. I am also grateful to my many colleagues and fellow students, especially Sue Ujma who supported me from beginning to end; I could not have made the distance without them. My immense thanks go to Mr John Hannan, former Strategic Project Manager, Water Law Reform, Department of Water, and Mr Riley Nelson, former Chairperson, Customer Advisory Council, Water Corporation of WA for their assistance and advice. My appreciative thanks also go to the Australian Water Association, Institute of Australian Geographers and International Centre for Landscapes and Language for the many networking opportunities, excellent publications and information that they provided. Lastly, I must lavish appreciation and praise on my former ECU Principal Supervisor Dr Hugo Bekle, ex Co-ordinator of Geography at ECU. His initial efforts, Geography expertise and guidance assisted me to develop a strong proposal; one that was topical enough to withstand the passage of time and flexible enough to re-mould into a Political Geography thesis entitled The ‘Wicked’ Policy Problem of Sustainable Water Use in Western Australia. 4 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION: THE ‘WICKED’ POLICY PROBLEM OF SUSTAINABLE WATER USE IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA 12 1.1. Background: To the ‘Wicked’ Policy Problem of Sustainable Water Use in WA. 13 1.2. The Research Problem and Research Questions. 17 1.3. The Significance of the Study. 18 The Social Significance of Sustainable Water Use. 19 The Economic Impacts of Sustainable Water Use. 19 The Political Impacts of Sustainable Water Use. 19 The Environmental Impacts of Sustainable Water Use. 20 1.4. The Chapter Outline. 20 Chapter 1: Introduction, The ‘Wicked’ Policy Problem of Sustainable Water 20 Use in WA. Chapter 2: The Conceptual Framework. 21 Chapter 3: The Review of the Literature. 22 Chapter 4: The Methodology and Research Techniques. 22 Chapter 5: The Geography of Water: A Regional Perspective. 24 Chapter 6: The Nyoongar People’s Use of Water: A Sustainable Economy 24 Chapter 7: Colonial WA: The Historical Geography of European Water Use. 25 Chapter 8: Government Water Policy: Institutional Arrangements. 25 Chapter 9: New Directions: Towards a Solution, 26 The Integrated Water Supply Scheme (IWSS). 26 Water from the North (Kimberley Pipeline). 27 Water footprinting. 27 Australian Government’s National Water Initiative (NWI). 27 The WC’s Water Forever, 50 year plan. 27 International Council for Local Environment Initiatives (ICLEI). 27 Water Recycling: The Groundwater Replenishment Trial. 28 Desalination Plants: Fountains of Fashion. 28 DoW Water Reform. 28 Chapter 10: Endurance and a ‘Wicked’ Policy Problem. 28 1.5. Conclusion. 28 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 30 2.1. Introduction: Review of the Literature. 30 2.2. Researching a ‘Wicked’ Policy Problem: A Difficult Research Process. 32 2.3. Transdisciplinary/Multidisciplinary/Interdisciplinary Research: Using Disciplines to Understand and Analyse a Wicked Problem. 33 2.4. Historical Geography: Abridging the Social and Natural Sciences. 35 2.5. Systems’ Thinking Approach: The Earth as an Open System. 37 2.6. Sustainable Water Use: A ‘Wicked’ Policy Problem. 37 2.7. Conclusion. 45 CHAPTER THREE: THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK. 46 3.1. Introduction: The Theoretical Framework. 46 3.2. Landscape Theory. 49 Introduction. 49 Natural and Cultural Landscapes. 49 The Region: A ‘Contested’ but ‘Organised’ Landscape. 50 3.3. Multidisciplinary, Transdisciplinary & Interdisciplinary Theories: A Wide Lens. 51 3.4. Liberalism: The Rise of Limited Government. 52 3.5. Marxist Theory: An Explanation for Capitalism. 56 3.6. A Sense of Place: For Eurocentric Settlers. 58 3.7. The Development Imperative: Unsustainable Development. 58 3.8. Conclusion. 60 5 CHAPTER FOUR: METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH TECHNIQUES 62 4.1. Introduction: Methodology and Research Techniques. 62 Water Security: A Crisis or an Episodic Climate Fluctuation? 62 The ‘Wicked’ Problem Methodological Framework. 66 4.2 Methodology and Research Techniques. 68 Interdisciplinary Research: A Multitude of Perspectives. 68 Historical and Geographical Records. 70 Systems Thinking: The Earth’s System. 72 Sustainable Water Use: The ‘Wicked’ Policy Problem. 72 General Resources. 73 Ethics in Human Research. 74 Consultation with Stakeholders. 74 4.3 Conclusion. 75 CHAPTER FIVE: THE GEOGRAPHY OF WATER: A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE 76 5.1. Introduction. 76 5.2. Study Area. 77 Background. 77 5.3. Landforms and Land Use. 77 Introduction. 77 Darling Plateau. 78 Swan Coastal Plain. 78 Soils. 78 Land Use. 79 5.4. Climate. 80 Mediterranean Climate. 80 Prevailing Winds. 82 Rainfall. 84 El Niño. 85 Oceanic Currents. 89 Temperature. 89 Summer Temperatures. 89 Winter Temperatures. 90 5.5. Natural Vegetation and Animal Life Forms. 90 Natural Vegetation. 91 Native Forests and Understory. 92 Birds and Animal Life Forms. 93 5.6. The Water Cycle. 94 5.7. The Gnangara Groundwater System. 95 5.8. Drainage. 96 5.9. Conclusion. 97 CHAPTER 6: THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLE’S USE OF WATER AND LAND: A SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY. 98 6.1 Dreamtime: Water Trails and Beyond. 102 The Nyoongar People’s Dreamtime Heritage. 102 Creation Myths and Legends. 104 Interdependency of religion and economics. 107 6.2. A Sustainable Economy: A Perfect Beginning. 110 Pinnacles of sustainability. 110 Hunting and Gathering: An Indigenous World-view. 111 The Nyoongar People’s Landscape: A Cornucopia. 112 6.3. From a Sustainable Economy to a Plunder Economy. 113 Maelstroms of Change: Post European Settlement. 113 The Benefits of European Settlement. 114 Conquest by an ‘Organised’ Society. 115 6.4. Water Reform: Indigenous Participation. 116 6.5. Conclusion. 118 6 CHAPTER 7: COLONIAL WA: THE HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF EUROPEAN WATER USE. 119 7.1. Introduction: Colonial WA: The Historical Geography of European Water Use. 120 7.2. The Swan River Mania. 123 The Swan River Colony: An Ephemeral Vision. 123 Disillusionment: The Sustenance-Poor Swan River Colony. 127 7.3. The Development Imperative. 127 Eureka: Gold Mines but No Water! 128 Rapacious Times: Export Markets and Prosperity. 131 7.4. ‘Great Water Famine’: Government Intervention.
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