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Drought in Australia: Still a problem of perception?

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Abstract

Some 19 years after a prior discussion of the perception of drought in Australia (Geographical Review 1969), in which it was suggested that attitudes to drought in Australia had shown the importance of varying perceptions of the phenomenon, a review of official drought relief policies provides further evidence of continuing ambivalence towards drought and its impacts upon Australian society. The recent emergence of a national policy on drought relief hides considerable and continuing variation between the States in their policies toward the mitigation of drought impacts. This ambivalence and lack of an effective national policy is likely to come under increasing critical scrutiny in the near future, if the current advances in drought forecasting capability continue. More accurate forecasts of drought, however, may raise their own separate problems for the rural community.

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  1. Dept. of Geography, Flinders University of South Australia, 5042, Bedford Park, SA, Australia

    Heathcote R. L.

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  1. Heathcote R. L.
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Heathcote, R.L. Drought in Australia: Still a problem of perception?. GeoJournal 16, 387–397 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00214396

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