COMMONWEALTH DROUGHT POLICY: 1989–1995. A CASE STUDY OF ECONOMIC RATIONALISM

Drought is a natural phenomenon that has particular implications for a primary industry, namely farmers. This paper examines the policy responses of the early 1990s. It is argued that these were driven more by political expedience than careful planning. In conclusion, it is suggested that drought policy shows one issue on which it was necessary to reverse, if only partially, the ‘economic rationalism’ that had dominated thinking in the 1980s.