Dave is an economist at Frontier Economics, specialising in natural resource regulatory, policy and commercial economic analysis and advisory. In the rural and urban water sector, this includes impacts of water trading, water market design, and broader water management and socio-economic policy. He also advises on natural resource management, agriculture and biosecurity issues.
Dave's work includes the evaluation and design of water market frameworks, analysing market architecture, trading rules, transparency, governance, and institutional structures to support efficient and equitable trading across regions. He also provides strategic, policy and regulatory advice to shape sustainable water allocation regimes, pricing strategies, institutional design, and resource security planning (e.g., considering emerging demands like hydrogen) through rigorous economic principles and interdisciplinary collaboration. He has advised commonwealth, state and local governments, regulators and utility service providers.
Examples include:
He also has an interest in broader aspects of water in a rural context. This includes the social, economic, environmental and cultural impacts of water access for consumptive use (such as irrigated agriculture) and non-consumptive use (such as environmental deliveries), policies around water access and water quality (such as salinity), and risks/resilience (such as from seasonal variability and drought).
A particular focus has been the social and economic issues associated with water recovery for the environment under the Murray Darling Basin Plan. Examples include:
This experience has also covered a diverse range of topics, including the Great Artesian Basin Groundwater Resources, Murray River salinity, and across the Tasman to New Zealand water management arrangements.
Dave has also managed many of Frontier Economics’ cost-benefit analysis projects across sectors. He’s also led many of the water demand reviews for regulators and water businesses, as well as policy reviews that require Regulatory Impact Statements / Policy Impact Assessments. The topics of these analyses have been highly varied — across urban water security, restoration of Victorian Murray Floodplains, ordering desalinated water, private land conservation, council sustainable water management strategies, floodplain management, agricultural R&D, equine influenza, locusts, and houseboats.
He has a Bachelor of Science and an Honours degree in Economics from the Australian National University (ANU) and a Master of Environment (Economics) from the University of Melbourne. During COVID he also completed a Diploma of Sustainable Living (Climate Change) at the University of Tasmania (UTAS), just for fun.
In Asia-Pacific, we do this from offices in Australia and Singapore. We work as a single team with expertise and people brought together as required by the problem we are solving for our clients. Reach out to any of our economists and consultants to find out how we can help you.
