Commodifying Water: The systematic and deliberate mismanagement of the Murray-Darling Basin, and what to do about it, Part One

Water is a precious resource, and river systems across the world are under threat from over-extraction, mismanagement, poor farming techniques and climate change. In Part One of this episode, we explore the systematic and deliberate mismanagement of the Murray-Darling with Scott Hamilton and Stuart Kells, whose 2021 book Sold Down the River: How Robber Barons and Wall Street Traders Cornered Australia's Water Market develops a novel understanding of the financialisation of the Murray-Darling Basin water market, which is discussed in detail. We finish this discussion on the subject  of Post-Neoliberalism, which touches on novel questions regarding possible future ways to manage the Murray-Darling within a reformed global system. This will then be the focus of Part Two of this conversation.