Dr James Horne

James is a former Deputy Secretary in the Australian Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (2007-2010), with responsibility for Water. He was the inaugural Chair of the Murray Darling Basin Basin Officials Committee and Chair of the Council of Australian Governments’ Water Reform Committee. In 2010 he was awarded the Australian Public Service Medal for his contribution to water policy.

James was a Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University from 2014 to 2018 and member of a number of domestic and international advisory groups. Recent publications are listed in the attached.   

He has a broad interest public policy, and a particular interest in water governance and infrastructure policy.

Recent Publications

Journal Articles

Horne J. (2013) Economic approaches to water management in Australia. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 29:4, 526-543 | DOI: 10.1080/07900627.2012.712336

Download https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/6tEjM9kMIyHkqhIEwfxX/full?target=10.1080/07900627.2012.712336  

Horne J. (2013) Australian water policy in a climate change context: some reflections. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 29:2, 137-51, DOI:10.1080/07900627.2013.725537. Download https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/2zpdAFpEWEIBXsFTKIma/full?target=10.1080/07900627.2013.725537

Horne J (2014) The 2012 Murray-Darling Basin Plan – issues to watch. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 30:1, 152-163, DOI: 10.1080/07900627.2013.787833

Grafton R.Q. & Horne J. (2014) Water Markets in the Murray-Darling Basin. Journal of Agricultural Water Management, DOI:10.1016/j.agwat.2013.12.001

Horne J. (2015) Water Information as a Tool to Enhance Sustainable Water Management—The Australian Experience, Water, 7: 2161-2183; DOI: 10.3390/w7052161

Horne J. (2015) Policy issues confronting Australian urban water reuse. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 32:4, 573-589; DOI: 10.1080/07900627.2015.1090901. Download: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/ntVqdc3UEPtP7TTgrVbW/full?target=10.1080/07900627.2015.1090901

Grafton R Q, Horne J and Wheeler, S (2015) On the Marketisation of Water: Evidence from the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia, Water Resources Management, DOI 10.1007/s11269-015-1199-0

Horne, J. (2016). Water policy responses to drought in the MDB, Australia. Water Policy, 18 (S2), 28-51. DOI:10.2166/wp.2016.012

Horne, J. (2017). The politics of water reform and environmental

sustainability in the Murray–Darling Basin, Water International, 42:8, 1000-1021, DOI:10.1080/02508060.2017.1412201

Horne, J. (2018). Resilience in major Australian cities: assessing capacity and preparedness to respond to extreme weather events. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 34:4, 632-651. DOI:10.1080/07900627.2016.1244049

Horne, J., Tortajada, C & Harrington, L (2018). Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: improving water services in cities affected by extreme weather events. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 34:4, 475-489. DOI: 10.1080/07900627.2018.1464902. Download: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/43qgB9Z8WzJUUb2ZtzyD/full?target=10.1080/07900627.2018.1464902

Horne, J (2019) Water demand reduction to help meet SDG 6: learning from major Australian cities. International Journal of Water Resources Development. Download https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/8NVMUC8N5PJUEDUBJ4U7/full?target=10.1080/07900627.2019.1638229

Internet articles

Horne J. (2010) OECD Workshop: Improving the information base to better guide water resource management decision making – Closing Address. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/tad/sustainable-agriculture/47899679.pdf

James Horne and Chris Guest (2014) Australian water policy framework: A rejoinder to Daniel Connell ‘A time to regroup and reassess in the Murray-Darling Basin’. See http://www.globalwaterforum.org/2014/04/07/the-australian-water-policy-framework-a-rejoinder-to-daniel-connell-a-time-to-regroup-and-reassess-in-the-murray-darling-basin/

James Horne (2014) Sustainable development requires persistence across a broad front of policy. See http://www.globalwaterforum.org/research/rivers-of-reform/

James Horne and Chris Guest (2014). To fix the Federation we must harness the digital revolution, The Conversation, 20 February 2014. See https://theconversation.com/to-fix-the-federation-we-must-harness-the-digital-revolution-22747

James Horne (2014). Murray-Darling Basin plan gets off to a very slow and shaky start. The Conversation, 14 April 2014. See https://theconversation.com/murray-darling-basin-plan-gets-off-to-a-very-slow-and-shaky-start-24732

James Horne (2015). The Future of Coal Seam Gas after the NSW Election.

The Conversation, 20 March 2015.  See https://theconversation.com/the-future-of-coal-seam-gas-after-the-nsw-election-38904 

James Horne (2015). Giving water policy to the Nationals could trigger a logjam of bureaucracy. The Conversation, 17 September 2015.  See https://theconversation.com/giving-water-policy-to-the-nationals-could-trigger-a-logjam-of-bureaucracy-47637

 James Horne (2015). The daunting challenge of water scarcity and pollution in China. Global Water Forum, 5 October 2015. See http://www.globalwaterforum.org/2015/10/05/the-daunting-challenge-of-water-scarcity-and-pollution-in-china/

James Horne (2015). As drought looms, the Murray-Darling is in much healthier shape – just don’t get complacent. The Conversation, 3 November 2015.  See https://theconversation.com/as-drought-looms-the-murray-darling-is-in-much-healthier-shape-just-dont-get-complacent-50063

Horne, J. (2016). Mining the Liverpool Plains: No place for politics in proper policy process. Policy Forum. 23 June 2016. Retrieved from http://www.policyforum.net/mining-liverpool-plains/

James Horne (2017) A low-water mark for the Murray-Darling Basin

Political commitment to the Basin Plan is long overdue, Policy Forum, 17 December 2017, https://www.policyforum.net/low-water-mark-murray-darling-basin/

Book chapters/ Reports

James Horne (2011), Economic instruments in establishing water security in

Australia’s Murray Darling Basin, in UN Water, Chapter 3: Thematic Conference Papers, pp 16-27.

Horne, J. (2016) FRAMING NOTE: WATER GOVERNANCE, 20 June 2016 (Prepared for the Australian Water Partnership at the request of Australia’s Department Of Foreign Affairs and Trade)

R. Quentin Grafton and James Horne (2014), Water Markets in the Murray Darling Basin, in R. Quentin Grafton et al. (eds.) Global Water: issues and insights. Canberra, ANU Press.

R. Quentin Grafton, Dustin Garrick and James Horne (2017), Water Misallocation:  Governance Challenges and Responses. Report prepared for the World Bank.

Horne, J. and Stone, R. (2017) Addressing Sao Paulo dry periods: water security, water allocation and water sharing mechanisms. Report arising from AWP engagement prepared for the Secretariat for Sanitation and Water Resources, Sao Paulo State Government.

Horne J. (2018) Water Security in Australia. In: World Water Council (eds) Global Water Security. Water Resources Development and Management. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7913-9_2

James Horne and R. Quentin Grafton (2019) ‘The Australian Water Markets Story – Transformation Incrementally. Chapter 7 in Successful Public Policy: Lessons from Australia and New Zealand eds. Joannah Luetjens, Michael Mintrom, and Paul ‘t Hart. Canberra: ANU Press.

Selected Historical

Horne, J. (1985). Japan’s Financial Markets: Conflict and Consensus in Policymaking. George Allen and Unwin. Sydney and London.

June 2019