Tony Webster

Strategy and economic policy advice

Policy and program review

Economic reform, industry policy and structural adjustment

Evidence-based policy, knowledge & information management

Building economic team capabilities

Regional and agricultural economics

Rural and urban water policy

Regulatory economics and regulation impact statements

Social and economic impact assessment

Community and stakeholder engagement

Government finances, revenue forecasting, tax policy and design

Federal finances, State taxes and comparative economics

Infrastructure and competition policy

Most recently, Tony has been advising the Department of Defence on ways to improve the use of economics for strategy and reporting for the Joint Strike Fighter program. Other projects include advising the Department of Social Services on the use of evidence-based policy and strategies for improving management information capabilities in respect of their people, systems and data; a performance review of  security for the Attorney-General's Department; preparing a submission to the White Paper on Agricultural Competitiveness for the Australian Chicken Meat Federation; and reviewing the reduction of tobacco duty free concession for the Treasury.

 

From 2011 to 2012 Tony was chief economist at the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, where he led the socio-economic impact assessment of the Basin Plan and the strategic direction for the Authority’s socio-economic work program.

 

Previously Tony worked for the Australian Treasury for 16 years.  He has considerable expertise in federal financial relations, having led the development and implementation of COAG’s new federal financial framework and performance reporting framework in 2008. He also has substantial experience in government finances, revenue analysis and economic reform.

• Duxton Asset Management—assessment of water resources required for expanded irrigated cotton production in Azerbaijan (2016)
• Department of Defence—improving the use of economics for strategy and reporting for the Joint Strike Fighter program (2015)
• Department of Defence—business process review of the Property Management Branch (2015)
• Treasury—post implementation review of tobacco excise revenue policy measure (2014)
• Defence Materiel Organisation—review of forecasting of benefits to Australian industry from the Joint Strike Fighter program (2014)
• Department of Social Services—design an evidence based policy capability and knowledge management strategy (2014)
• Chicken Meat Federation of Australia—prepared a submission to the White Paper on Agricultural Competitiveness (2014)
• Attorney-General's Department—performance review of departmental security arrangements (2014)

Murray-Darling Basin Authority (2012), The Socio economic implications of the proposed Basin Plan.

Murray-Darling Basin Authority (2011), Socioeconomic analysis and the draft Basin Plan: Part A—Overview and Analysis.

Commonwealth of Australia (2009), Budget Paper No 3 2009-10: Australia’s federal relations, http://www.budget.gov.au/2009-10/content/bp3/html/bp3_prelims.htm.

Warburton, Richard F. E. and Peter Hendy (2006), International comparison of Australia’s taxes, http://comparativetaxation.treasury.gov.au, Chapters 1-3.

Australian Chicken Meat Federation (2014), Submission to the Agricultural Competitiveness Taskforce, 17 April.

Treasurer of Molonglo Catchment Group Inc (since 2014)

Treasurer of Australian Agricultural & Resource Economics Society (ACT Branch) (since 2014)