WORKSHOPS AND FORUMS

National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Delegation visit to Centre for Strategic Economic Studies, Victoria University

PROGRAM

• Welcome欢迎代表团
  
  Professor Bruce Rasmussen, Director, Centre for Strategic Economic Studies, Victoria University
  Bruce Rasmussen维多利亚大学战略经济研究中心主任、教授
  Madame Sun Cuihua, Deputy Director General, Department of Climate Change, NDRC
   
• Structural rebalancing of the economy: Implications for energy and emissions
  中国经济结构的调整对能源与二氧化碳排放的影响
  Professor Peter Sheehan, Centre for Strategic Economic Studies, Victoria University
  Peter Sheehan维多利亚大学战略经济研究中心原主任、教授
   
• Low carbon cities, liveability and sustainability 低碳城市、宜居化和可持续发展

  Professor Roger Jones: Uncertainty and risk in responding to climate change adaptation
  气候变化适应对不确定性和风险的影响
  
  Dr Brantley Liddle: Urbanisation, transport, energy and emissions
  城市化、交通、能源和温室气体排放

  Dr Roger Bodman: Narrowing the uncertainty in climate change scenarios
  减少气候变化的不确定性分析

  Dr Gayathri Mekala: Urban green infrastructure and liveability: implications for planning & policy
  绿色城市基础设施和宜居化对规划的影响和政策
  
  Dr Alex English: Summary of the workshop outcome and low carbon cities project
  低碳城市研讨会和研究项目的总结

Download all presentations (pdf 3.55 MB).
 

Over half of the world’s population now live in cities. While cities contribute 70% of global emissions, they are also centres of innovative designs and solutions to the serious global resource and climate constraints. Many countries, including China and Australia, are seeking to create low carbon liveable cities. Melbourne’s recent designation as the ‘world’s most liveable city’ has led to interest from many Chinese officials and academics in its urban experience. But Melbourne also has much to learn from China’s ambitious efforts to improve the environment and liveability of its rapidly growing cities.

This forum brought together Australian and Chinese experts to discuss the importance of cities in controlling climate change and the scale and variety of policy experiments. It focused on the positive and negative lessons to be drawn from Melbourne’s experience, and their relevance to China.

PROGRAM

• 4.30 pm Welcome, Professor Peter Dawkins, Vice Chancellor, Victoria University

• 4.40 pm Cities and Climate Change, in China and Globally, Dr Jiang Kejun, National Development and Reform Commission, China; IPCC lead author

• 5.10pm Melbourne and the Chinese Experiments: Lessons and Warnings, Dr Alex English, Research Fellow, Victoria University

• 5.30 pm Panel Chair
  Mr George Pappas, Chancellor, Victoria University; Chairman, Committee for Melbourne
  Professor Xu He, Nankai University, Tianjin
  Mr Kevin Begg, Principal Urban Designer, GHD Melbourne

• 6.00 pm Questions and answers

• 6.30 pm Close Professor Peter Dawkins, Vice Chancellor

Keynote speaker, Dr Jiang Kejun, is one of China’s leading energy and climate experts and is based in the China’s National Development and Reform Commission’s Energy Research Institute. Mr George Pappas, as Chair of the Committee for Melbourne with a strong interest in the future of Melbourne, will chair the Panel session.

The forum arises out of a visit to Victoria University by 18 senior officials and academics from the Chinese Government, from Tianjin/Binhai and from the Chinese Academies of Science and of Urban Planning and Design with the support of Australia’s Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency (DCCEE).

Workshop on public finance in Australia and China

This workshop, jointly organised by Victoria University and the Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE) (Beijing), addressed public finance reform, central-local fiscal allocations and debt and optimising tax governance in China and Australia.

The workshop began with a public seminar presentation by Professor Ma Haitao Thinking on China’s Taxation System Reform and Development (PDF 144 KB)

This seminar was followed by CUFE/VU workshop presentations:

Public finance reform in Australia and China, Professor Peter Sheehan, VU

Sub-national government debt management in Australia, Dr Bruce Rasmussen, VU

Current situation and reasons for China’s local government debt, Professor Wen Laicheng, CUFE

Allocating taxes among levels of government and horizontal and vertical fiscal equalization, Professor Bhajan Grewal, VU

Central and local government fiscal relations in China: Central transfer payments and property tax reform, Professor Ren Qiang, CUFE

Property tax in Australia: Councils, revenue, property based taxes and the fiscal equalisation process, Mr Colin Morrison, Victorian Government

Optimising the allocation of local tax authorisation in China, Associate Professor Jiang Aihua

International accounting standards: Adoption, use and financial reporting; The characteristics of Australia’s Auditor General: Ensuring independence and accountability, Professor Colin Clark, VU

Urbanisation and local government fiscal risk in China (Research proposal), Miss Zhang Zhang, CUFE
 

CUFE delegates:
• Professor Ma Haitao, Dean, School of Public Finance (head of the delegation)
• Professor Wen Laicheng, School of Public Finance
• Associate Professor Ren Qiang, Vice Dean, School of Public Finance
• Associate Professor Jiang Aihua, Vice Dean, School of Public Finance

Local participants:
• Professor Peter Sheehan, Director, Centre for Strategic Economic Studies, Victoria University
• Professor Colin Clark, Accountant Professor, VU
• Professor Bhajan Grewal, CSES, VU
• Dr Bruce Rasmussen, Deputy Director, CSES, VU
• Mr Colin Morrison, Director, Governance & Funding Programs, Local Government, Victoria Department of Planning & Community Development; Executive Officer, Victoria Grants Commission
• Miss Zhang Zhang, CUFE PhD student and Visiting Researcher, CSES, VU
• Dr Alex English, CSES, VU