Professor Quentin Grafton has been appointed as the inaugural Chief Economist to head up the new Bureau of Resource and Energy Economics (BREE), which will officially commence operation from 1 July 2011.
Announced earlier this year, following consultation with stakeholders, BREE will sit as a professionally independent agency within the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism. It will initially be comprised largely of staff transferred from the resources and energy branch of ABARES and will be responsible for continuing all ABARES’ current resources and energy related publications and analysis.
Welcoming the appointment today, Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson AM MP emphasised the importance of high quality research in the energy and resources sector.
“With the pressures of rapid growth in mining and the transition to a clean energy economy, we need a deep pool of reliable and insightful analysis,” Minister Ferguson said.
“BREE will build on the important work of ABARES, including the commodity forecasts that drive decisions across industry and the market.
“Beyond that, BREE will work to fill large gaps in our knowledge and give us a more detailed understanding of how Australians use energy in industry and at home, both on-grid and off-grid.
“As a leading economic thinker with extensive experience in influencing and developing policy, I am confident Professor Grafton will ensure the Bureau’s success.”
Professor Grafton will take up the position in August and is currently based at the Australian National University as the Director of the Centre for Water Economics, Environment and Policy and Professor of Economics at the Crawford School of Economics and Government. He is also the UNESCO Chair in Water Economics and Transboundary Water Governance.
An advisory board of leading energy and resource sector economists has also been appointed to support the creation of BREE. These include: Professor Paul Simshauser, Chief Economist from AGL; Vivek Tulpulé, Chief Economist from Rio Tinto; Justin Smirk, Senior Economist at Westpac; and Dr Lynne Chester from the University of Sydney, whose broad expertise across energy markets and regulation includes a focus on energy consumers and energy poverty. They will be joined by a State representative, Anne Nolan, Director General of the WA Department of Finance, as well as Commonwealth Treasury’s Deputy Secretary Dr David Gruen and ABARES’ Executive Director Phillip Glyde.