Assessing the impact of rising petroleum prices on agricultural production in rural and regional Australia

This paper reports on the first phase of a three-year research project funded by Land and Water Australia to examine the social and economic vulnerability of rural landscapes and industries to impacts from rising petroleum prices. A key aspect of this project involves creating an 'oil vulnerability' assessment index. Rural and regional areas are potentially highly exposed to the impacts of rising fuel costs due to the costs of production and reliance on petroleum dependent transportation networks for access to broader business, community and social services. The paper will review the current high global oil price uncertainty and the ongoing government, industry and public concern about the future cost of petroleum-based transport fuels