Case studies

Many projects undertaken by ACIL Tasman are instrumental in supporting policy and strategy decisions made by goverment and industry. Below are some projects ACIL Tasman has undertaken to assist decision making for government and in different industry sectors.

Agribusiness

Analysing the impact of GM canola moratoria

ACIL Tasman was commissioned by the Victorian Department of Primary industries in 2007 to analyse the economic impact of the GM canola moratorium from 2004 to 2008, and to analyse the impacts of two future policy options:

an indefinite continuation of the current moratorium
allowing the moratorium to expire at the end of February 2008.

The results of this analysis provide detailed cost-benefit estimates for the GM Canola Review Panel, chaired by Sir Gustav Nossal, for its deliberations on the policy options available to the Victorian Government in preparation for the expiry of the GM canola moratorium in early 2008. This economic analysis was conducted during August and September 2007. The results are presented in three broad parts:

an assessment of the impact of the Victorian moratorium between 2004 and 2008
the costs and benefits of continuing the moratorium until 2016
the costs and benefits of allowing the moratorium to expire in February 2008.

The analysis has found that the likelihood that a significant and sustained increase in the price Victorian farmers would receive for their canola if the moratorium were extended was remote. By comparison, the cost of forgoing the herbicide management technology available with the current OGTR licensed GM canola varieties would be substantial. In February 2008 the Victorian Government lifted the ban on the commercial planting of OGTR approved GM canola varieties.

For further information and references to our latest reports, please contact ACIL Tasman.

Development of a wheat marketing model

ACIL Tasman was commissioned by the Australian Grain Export Association in 2006 to prepare a wheat marketing model for the Australian Wheat Industry. The model addressed three questions concerning key stakeholders in the wheat industry:

how are the interests of growers going to be looked after?
how will the interests and the reputation of the Australian wheat industry as a whole be protected and enhanced?
how will the competitiveness of the Australian wheat industry be improved?

The paper also demonstrated how a contestable market would avoid the flaws of the existing wheat marketing arrangements that were exposed by the Oil for Food inquiry. Similarly, the paper demonstrated how existing organisations, and the introduction of one new body, would provide the necessary structure for increasing net returns to growers, while enhancing quality standards, and the reputation of Australian wheat.

This report was released in November 2007 and the current wheat marketing arrangements, introduced in Wheat Export Marketing Bill 2008 bare many similarities with what was proposed in this paper.

For further information and references to our latest reports, please contact ACIL Tasman.

Analysis of agribusiness entry study

ACIL Tasman was commissioned by Kazanah NB, a major Malaysian investment company, to undertake a detailed analysis of the company’s agribusiness entry strategy (in three stages – retail, manufacturing and supply chain management) into Malaysia. The study had several components, including:

a thorough analysis of food retail and consumption trends in Malaysia, the region and broad global trends
supply chain analysis and design, comprising three sections:
- an overview and analysis of global supply chain research
- methods of supply chain coordination through contracts
- an outline of key success factors
the development of a series of case studies detailing how relevant successful (and not so successful) supply chains have been designed and implemented by other companies:
- a supply chain design for a selected product
- an overview of cooperative structure alternatives
- an overview of the development of agricultural capital markets.

The final stage of this project was the preparation of a comprehensive business plan for Khazanah NB to establish an agribusiness investment. The business plan had to meet to key criteria; the investment had to make a commercially acceptable rate of return and affect change in Malaysian agriculture and fresh produce supply chains. Khazanah NB has now fully implemented all of the main elements of the business plan.

For further information and references to our latest reports, please contact ACIL Tasman.

Information review on GM canola

ACIL Tasman, in partnership with Innovation Dynamics, was commissioned by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry in 2007 to conduct a comprehensive review of the information available on genetically modified (GM) canola. The report presented some of the principles of the main arguments for and against the commercial release of GM canola, and investigated the views of the best available literature on the topic. It became a valuable resource for parties involved in the debate about commercialisation of the technology. The report considered several important issues:

The regulatory environment for canola, both in Australia and internationally.

consumer issues associated with market acceptance of GM products in Australia and internationally
the role of canola in the Australian cropping system and the impact (including benefits and costs) of introducing GM canola
likely implications of the introduction of GM canola for other Australian agricultural products
legal liability issues surrounding the product.

For further information and references to our latest reports, please contact ACIL Tasman.

Defence

Economic analysis to assist inquiry into naval shipbuilding

In 2006, ACIL Tasman provided economic input into a submission by the South Australian Government to the Senate Inquiry into Naval Shipbuilding. A desktop review, amongst other things, brought together findings from a number of previous defence related reports produced by ACIL Tasman including:

a profile of the Australian defence industry (for the Defence Council of the Australian Industry Group)
Australian Naval Shipbuilding and Repair Sector Strategic Plan (for the Department of Defence)
report on skill shortages and the amphibious ships project (for the Australian Shipbuilding Advisory Group)
Impact of major defence projects: A case study of the Minehunter coastal project
Impact of major defence projects: A case study of the ANZAC ship.

The review undertaken by ACIL Tasman was provided against the backdrop of the capacity of the Australian shipbuilding industry to construct large naval vessels versus offshore production and purchase by the defence industry.

For further information and references to the submission containing ACIL Tasman’s analysis and modelling, please contact ACIL Tasman.

Economics, policy, strategy

Economic appraisals of major hospital developments

ACIL Tasman has been engaged by NSW Health Infrastructure since late 2008 to assist in the economic appraisal of major capital projects in accordance with NSW Treasury Guidelines and NSW Health’s Interim Guidelines for Economic Appraisal of Capital Projects. Economic appraisal is a core component of the Business Case development in accordance with NSW Treasury’s requirements. A number of economic appraisals for major hospital development have been conducted with particular focus on option development and valuation of net health benefits.

For further information and references to our latest reports, please contact ACIL Tasman.

Economics of the short term trading market for natural gas

ACIL Tasman provided analytical assistance to a gas industry working group with respect to economic efficiency aspects of a Short Term Trading Market for natural gas (STTM) during the development phase of the market. The inputs assisted the working group during its participation in a government-industry working group under the Gas Market Leaders’ Group of the Ministerial Council on Energy.

For more information contact Alan Smart in Canberra on +61 2 6103 8201.

Policy review of WA intrastate aviation

ACIL Tasman reviewed intrastate aviation policies for the WA Department of Transport. It analysed traffic levels; interviewed airlines, mining companies, shires and other stakeholders; assessed the particular needs of fly-in-fly-out services; and considered appropriate regulatory and competition policies for busier and less busy routes.

For further information and references to our latest reports, please contact ACIL Tasman.

Strategic review of economic opportunities for natural gas in Tasmania

ACIL Tasman undertook a review of industry opportunities from the introduction of natural gas in Tasmania for the Department of Economic Development. The work involved reviewing the potential economic competitiveness of industries that could utilise natural gas and developed recommendations on strategies that would facilitate their development.

For more information, contact Alan Smart in Canberra on +61 2 6103 8201.

Energy and resources

Audit of petroleum import infrastructure

ACIL Tasman was commissioned by the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism to undertake an audit of petroleum import infrastructure, which was released by the Minister in May 2009. It is a comprehensive audit of the infrastructure and terminals importing petroleum products into Australia. It documents the bottlenecks and pans for new investment in import infrastructure around Australia. It discusses policy issues arising out of the situation.

For further information, please contact Alan Smart at ACIL Tasman on +61 2 6103 8201. A copy of the report can be found here.

Review of Australia's liquid fuels vulnerability assessment

The review of Australia's liquid fuels vulnerability was commissioned as part of the Commonwealth Government's arrangements for periodically reporting on the potential for interruptions to supplies of liquid fuels in Australia. The report reviews the outlook for global oil supplies, and the role of domestic refineries and imports in determining the risk of an interruption. It concludes that the risk of a major disruption in the period 2020 is low. However it notes that because of the adoption of higher fuel standards, the possibility of interruptions to refinergy produced petroleum products in higher. The diversity of Australia's supplies and the emergence of new investment in refineries in Asia protect Australia from major disruptions over the period.

For further information, please contact Alan Smart at ACIL Tasman on +61 2 6103 8201. A copy of the report can be found here.

Impact asssessment of the PNG gas pipeline

In 2007-08, ACIL Tasman conducted an assessment for Exxon Mobil of the direct and indirect impacts of the proposed Papua New Guinea (PNG) LNG project on the PNG economy. The study addressed two aspects of potential economic impact:

Measurement of direct impacts of the project in terms of capital investment, ongoing operational expenditure, employment, production value and cash flows to the PNG government and landowners in the form of taxation payments, equity participation, royalties and other payments
Measurement of indirect impacts of the project through multiplier and productivity effects (e.g. investment in physical assets such as roads and airports or social assets such as education and health services).

Modelling of the economy-wide impacts was undertaken in conjunction with the University of Queensland School of Economics using a computable general equilibrium model of the PNG economy.

For further information, please contact Paul Balfe at ACIL Tasman on +61 7 3009 8700 find the report here.

Modelling of power generation prices in selected regions

ACIL Tasman prepared models of power station economics for conventional and renewable energy technologies of the Commonwealth Treasury. The economics was undertaken on a globlal basis and provided inpiut into the modelling uncertaken by Treasury for the development of the proposed emissions trading scheme.

For further information please contact ACIL Tasman. The report can be found here.

Environment and climate change

Impact assessment of an emissions trading scheme in Australia

In 2008, ACIL Tasman undertook a major study for the Energy Supply Association on the impact of an Australian emissions trading scheme (ETS) on the energy supply industry. The study covered three emissions scenarios (business as usual, 10 per cent and 20 per cent emissions reduction targets by 2020 compared with emissions in 2000) estimating emissions permit prices, electricity price changes, plant closures and new entry in the National Electricity Market and the WA South West Integrated System.

The report provided the results from an extensive modelling exercise which simulated the introduction of a cap-and-trade ETS with limited international trade in permits and mapped demand side as well as supply side effects. The modelling incorporated gas, electricity and computable general equilibrium (CGE) modelling using our integrated energy market capability.

This groundbreaking piece of work has been used and quoted extensively across the energy sector. For further information, please contact ACIL Tasman.

Projected energy prices in selected regions

ACIL Tasman prepared projections of electricty prices for new entrant electricity generation including solar thermal, photovoltaics, wind, biomass and geothermal generation for the Austrlalian Treasury. The work was drawn on for the Treasury modelling of an emissions trading scheme. For more information contact ACIL Tasman. A copy of the report can be found here.

Geospatial information

Review of the value of spatial information in Australia

ACIL Tasman undertook a review of the value of spatial information in Australia for the CRC for Spatial Information and the Australian Spatial Information Business Association in 2007.

The review analysed the application of spatial information in 22 sectors of the Australian economy and estimated the contribution to the national economy using ACIL Tasman's Computable General Equilibrium model Tasman Global.

For further information, please contact Alan Smart at ACIL Tasman on +61 2 6103 8201. A copy of the report can be found here.

Value of spatial information in New Zealand

ACIL Tasman reviewed the value of spatial information in New Zealand in 2009. The report was commissioned by Land Information New Zealand, the Department of Conservation and the Ministry of Economic Development. The report used ACIL Tasman's Computed General Equilibrium model Tasman Global and the results of 10 case studies to estimate the value of spatial information in New Zealand. The report has been used to inform policy development in New Zealand for development of spatial information infrastructure and access to data.

For further information, please contact Alan Smart at ACIL Tasman on +61 2 6103 8201. A copy of the report can be found here.

Government and public policy

Evaluation of the Commercialising Emerging Technologies (COMET) Program

In 2007-08, ACIL Tasman was commissioned by the (then) Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources to undertake an independent evaluation of the appropriateness, effectiveness and efficiency of the COMET program. The purpose of the evaluation was to provide evidence to support any recommendations for improvements or modifications that may need to be made to the COMET program to maintain or improve outcomes.

The evaluation required extensive consultation with program delivery agents, administrators and participants through face to face interviews, surveys and questionnaires. ACIL Tasman undertook quantitative analysis using data collected and held on the COMET program by AusIndustry. In addition to internal use by the Department, ACIL Tasman’s report also fed into the Review of the National Innovation System.

For further information, please contact ACIL Tasman. A copy of the report can be found here.

Indigenous development

ACIL Tasman’s work in Indigenous business development ranges from regional economic assessments to determine markets for potential businesses to feasibility studies and business planning for specific businesses.

Regional economic assessments

Regional economic assessments have included:

assessing the opportunities for transition of Community Development Employment Project (CDEP) programs to viable businesses in various communities in the Thamarrurr, Barkly and Borroloola regions of the Northern Territory.
assessing business development and employment opportunities in the Maningrida region in Arnhem Land across a wide range of industries including manufacturing, extractive industries, tourism, accommodation, community services, land and sea management, and carbon management.
for the Remote Enterprise Centre, developing economic snapshots of remote and very remote centres with growth prospects in Australia, including assessment of growth drivers.

Feasibility studies

Feasibility and business planning studies for Indigenous businesses have included:

Maningrida – mechanical workshop
Dundee Beach – accommodation
Peppimenarti – mechanical workshop, commercial ranger activities and corporate structure
Wadeye – cleaning service, mechanical workshop and freight and transport business
Katherine – public transport
Nhulunbuy / Yirrkala – construction
Broome – marine services to the petroleum and mining industries
Darwin - construction component business
Maningrida – Indigenous ranger college
Tiwi Islands – sea ranger college
Perth – petroleum industry software.