Gavan McDonell
Encyclopedia
Gavan McDonell is an Australia
n civil engineer
, economist
and political sociologist in the fields of national infrastructure
policy reform, international development and academic education for advanced sustainability
studies.
McDonell has directed four public enquiries for different State and Federal governments, three as sole Commissioner under legislation similar to a Royal Commission
. (See Public commissions of enquiry below). From the late 1950s to the mid 1990s he was a consultant, adviser and senior official in about forty countries, working on national infrastructure and regional development. (See International Consultancy below). From the late 1980s to the late 1990s, McDonell established in the University of New South Wales, Sydney, one of the first transdiciplinary programs in advanced social and political theory relating to environmental sustainability. This has produced leading contributions in research, policy and governance for science, technology and environment. (See Academic career below). As a senior investment banker in the early 1990s, he wrote the first survey by a Westerner since World War II of the energy, transport and related environmental issues of the eight energy-rich republics of the former Soviet Union in the Caucasus and Central Asia. (See European Bank for Reconstruction and Development below). During the early 2000s he made well known contributions to policy reform for the design and structure of the national electricity market
s and grid, the country's most complex infrastructure system. (See National Electricity Market below.)
In 1997 McDonell received a Doctor of Engineering from the University of Queensland, the highest academic recognition, rarely awarded, given for original and distinguished contributions of a career. The citation observed that his work marked " ... the emergence of a new professional field which might be called 'the engineering, management and evaluation of large infrastructure systems ... linked with social and political theory and relating human concerns to the environment ... ', and that it had ' ... set policy agendas and legislative programs for longterm change at national and State levels in freight and urban transport, shipping and ports, electricity and energy, and toxic wastes'. In 1991 he was admitted to Fellowship in the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, the highest professional award.
, Queensland
, educated at St. Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace
, and graduated in civil engineering
from the University of Queensland
in 1955, majoring in engineering structures under Professor John Lavery, a leading designer and theorist. He took a Master of Arts in political economy
and international studies from Johns Hopkins University
, Maryland, in 1961, with a thesis on infrastructure policy in post-revolutionary China. He was a student of Simon Kuznets
, Fritz Machlup
and Owen Lattimore
(also studying at the London School of Economics
with Edith Penrose
). Subsequently he took a PhD
in political and economic sociology in 1987 at the University of New South Wales
, where he was a student of Sol Encel
and Michael Pusey with a dissertation on the sociology and economics of transport
and infrastructure
industries.
with Hydro Tasmania
, McDonell was a design engineer with Ove Arup
in London
, and managed their Accra
, Ghana
office, supervising bridge and building projects, including architecture by Maxwell Fry
and Jane Drew
.
In the period 1961-1963, he was engineer and economic adviser with the government of Northern Nigeria
, based in Kano
, and was responsible for the economic and demographic aspects of the first Greater Kano Masterplan, probably the first regional development plan in Sub-Saharan Africa
.
In the early/mid 1960s, McDonell advised on finance and planning to the Board of McDonald Industries Limited, Chairman Sir Warren McDonald, and was project manager for the first Frances Creek, Northern Territory
iron mine and related Darwin
port facilities program.
In 1966 he was appointed founding Director-designate and later Director of the Department of Transport in Papua New Guinea
, the first in the Commonwealth to embrace land, sea and air transport. He directed the preparation of Papua New Guinea's first national transport plan which formed the basis for long term financing and development. (See Transport in Papua New Guinea: Governance for more information.)
McDonell conributed the transport and economic analyses for the first City of Sydney Strategic Plan which has provided the long term basis for the City's planning process. (See City of Sydney: Politics for more information.)
, strengthened interconnection of the State power systems in eastern Australia, and the coordination of regional markets. It ushered in new directions in Australian energy policy and governance with long running effects. (See Energy policy of Australia: History and governance.)
Some of these projects include:
McDonell was invited to join the newly established EBRD as senior adviser responsible for developing infrastructure, energy and environment investment strategies for the three Caucasian republics of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the five Central Asian republics of Turkmenistan
, Uzbekistan
, Tajikistan
, Kyrghyzstan and Kazakhstan
. He was one of the first Westerners for about half a century to have policy access in these countries, and initiated infrastructure lending programs. His report commissioned by the Royal Institute of International Affairs Chatham House
became a standard reference.
(NEM). Several of these produced notable innovations. They included:
-Analyses of the importance of the role of interconnectors between regional and State power grids and the technical and economic issues involved.
-The introduction of the ancillary services markets,. McDonell designed the economic principles for the ancillary markets: the system has led to large cost savings and greater stability control for the whole 4000 km national grid, probably the longest, single-operator system in the world. It was claimed by the official regulators to be a world first.
- In 2003, as the expert member of the National Electricity Tribunal, the industry's appeals body for the review of major regulatory decisions, he gave the minority decision on the controversial Murraylink/SNI process which had taken 6 years. His decision led to reconstruction of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's Regulatory Test, the key guideline on major transmission network investments.
, it is administered through the School of History and Philosophy within the Faculty, of which he is now an adjunct professor. McDonell pioneered advanced studies combining the understanding of transdisciplinary studies
, the sociology
of everyday life
and trust (social sciences), risk society
, sociology of science, and deliberative democracy
. Scholars from the Program have made leading contributions to national and international research, policy and governance in toxic waste management, corporate and industry sustainability, national primary industry environmental reform and governance, environmental and constitutional law, regulation of gene technology, and in other fields.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
, economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
and political sociologist in the fields of national infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
policy reform, international development and academic education for advanced sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
studies.
McDonell has directed four public enquiries for different State and Federal governments, three as sole Commissioner under legislation similar to a Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
. (See Public commissions of enquiry below). From the late 1950s to the mid 1990s he was a consultant, adviser and senior official in about forty countries, working on national infrastructure and regional development. (See International Consultancy below). From the late 1980s to the late 1990s, McDonell established in the University of New South Wales, Sydney, one of the first transdiciplinary programs in advanced social and political theory relating to environmental sustainability. This has produced leading contributions in research, policy and governance for science, technology and environment. (See Academic career below). As a senior investment banker in the early 1990s, he wrote the first survey by a Westerner since World War II of the energy, transport and related environmental issues of the eight energy-rich republics of the former Soviet Union in the Caucasus and Central Asia. (See European Bank for Reconstruction and Development below). During the early 2000s he made well known contributions to policy reform for the design and structure of the national electricity market
National Electricity Market
The National Electricity Market is the name of the Australian wholesale electricity market and the associated synchronous electricity transmission grid....
s and grid, the country's most complex infrastructure system. (See National Electricity Market below.)
In 1997 McDonell received a Doctor of Engineering from the University of Queensland, the highest academic recognition, rarely awarded, given for original and distinguished contributions of a career. The citation observed that his work marked " ... the emergence of a new professional field which might be called 'the engineering, management and evaluation of large infrastructure systems ... linked with social and political theory and relating human concerns to the environment ... ', and that it had ' ... set policy agendas and legislative programs for longterm change at national and State levels in freight and urban transport, shipping and ports, electricity and energy, and toxic wastes'. In 1991 he was admitted to Fellowship in the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, the highest professional award.
Early life and education
McDonell was born and raised in BrisbaneBrisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, educated at St. Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace
St. Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace
St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace is a Greater Public Schools private, Roman Catholic, day school for boys only, located in Spring Hill, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia...
, and graduated in civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
from the University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
in 1955, majoring in engineering structures under Professor John Lavery, a leading designer and theorist. He took a Master of Arts in political economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
and international studies from Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, Maryland, in 1961, with a thesis on infrastructure policy in post-revolutionary China. He was a student of Simon Kuznets
Simon Kuznets
Simon Smith Kuznets was a Russian American economist at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania who won the 1971 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences "for his empirically founded interpretation of economic growth which has led to new and deepened insight into the economic and...
, Fritz Machlup
Fritz Machlup
Fritz Machlup was an Austrian-American economist. He was notable for being one of the first economists to examine knowledge as an economic resource....
and Owen Lattimore
Owen Lattimore
Owen Lattimore was an American author, educator, and influential scholar of Central Asia, especially Mongolia. In the 1930s he was editor of Pacific Affairs, a journal published by the Institute of Pacific Relations, and then taught at Johns Hopkins University from 1938 to 1963...
(also studying at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
with Edith Penrose
Edith Penrose
Edith Elura Tilton Penrose was an American-born British economist whose best known work is The Theory of the Growth of the Firm, which describes the ways which firms grow and how fast they do. Writing in The Independent the economist Sir Alec Cairncross, stated that the book brought Dr...
). Subsequently he took a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in political and economic sociology in 1987 at the University of New South Wales
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, where he was a student of Sol Encel
Sol Encel
Solomon "Sol" Encel was a Polish born Australian academic sociologist.He received an M.A. and PhD. both from the University of Melbourne...
and Michael Pusey with a dissertation on the sociology and economics of transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
and infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
industries.
Early career
After working as a construction engineer in TasmaniaTasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
with Hydro Tasmania
Hydro Tasmania
Hydro Tasmania, known for most of its history as The HEC, is the government owned enterprise which is the predominant electricity generator in the state of Tasmania, Australia...
, McDonell was a design engineer with Ove Arup
Ove Arup
Sir Ove Nyquist Arup, CBE, MICE, MIStructE known as Ove Arup, was a leading Anglo-Danish engineer and generally considered to be one of the foremost architectural structural engineers of his time...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and managed their Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
office, supervising bridge and building projects, including architecture by Maxwell Fry
Maxwell Fry
Edwin Maxwell Fry, CBE, RA, FRIBA, FRTPI, known as Maxwell Fry , was an English modernist architect of the middle and late 20th century, known for his buildings in Britain, Africa and India....
and Jane Drew
Jane Drew
Dame Jane Drew, DBE, FRIBA was an English modernist architect and town planner. She qualified at the AA School in London, and prior to World War II became one of the leading exponents of the Modern Movement in London....
.
In the period 1961-1963, he was engineer and economic adviser with the government of Northern Nigeria
Northern Nigeria
Northern Nigeria is a geographical region of Nigeria. It is more arid and less densely populated than the south. The people are largely Muslim, and many are Hausa...
, based in Kano
Kano
Kano is a city in Nigeria and the capital of Kano State in Northern Nigeria. Its metropolitan population is the second largest in Nigeria after Lagos. The Kano Urban area covers 137 sq.km and comprises six Local Government Area - Kano Municipal, Fagge, Dala, Gwale, Tarauni and Nassarawa - with a...
, and was responsible for the economic and demographic aspects of the first Greater Kano Masterplan, probably the first regional development plan in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
.
In the early/mid 1960s, McDonell advised on finance and planning to the Board of McDonald Industries Limited, Chairman Sir Warren McDonald, and was project manager for the first Frances Creek, Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
iron mine and related Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
port facilities program.
In 1966 he was appointed founding Director-designate and later Director of the Department of Transport in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
, the first in the Commonwealth to embrace land, sea and air transport. He directed the preparation of Papua New Guinea's first national transport plan which formed the basis for long term financing and development. (See Transport in Papua New Guinea: Governance for more information.)
McDonell conributed the transport and economic analyses for the first City of Sydney Strategic Plan which has provided the long term basis for the City's planning process. (See City of Sydney: Politics for more information.)
Public commissions of enquiry
McDonell has directed, as Sole Commissioner, three Commissions of Enquiry into major public controversies:Port Darwin, Northern Territory Transport and Economic Development 1971-72
Appointed in 1971 by the Administrator of the Northern Territory to enquire into large shipping delays, port requirements and transport needs for Territory development, McDonell's recommendations resulted in redirection of port investment and port operations, a masterplan and highways linking with adjoining States. (See Northern Territory: Transport for more information.)New South Wales Road and Rail Freight Transport Industry 1978-80
As a result of road/rail conflicts and industrial disputes blocking highways serving all capital cities on the Australian mainland, this enquiry, established by the New South Wales government, resulted in the restructuring of much of the NSW rail freight industry, new road licensing, and the first comprehensive economic measures of national road freight infrastructure costs. (See Road transport in Australia: Economic regulation for more information.) It also provided the contents of a national regulatory agenda, (see Road transport in Australia: Costs and funding), and for development of the Darling Harbour Precinct on Sydney Harbour. (See Darling Harbour: History.)New South Wales Electricity Generation Planning and Reform 1984-85
Following many State and inter-State problems in the electricity industry in the early 1980s, this enquiry, appointed by the New South Wales government, resulted in the abandonment of four planned major power stations, power industry restructuring including the Electricity Commission of New South WalesElectricity Commission of New South Wales
The Electricity Commission of New South Wales, sometimes called Elcom, was a statutory body responsible for the generation of electricity and its bulk transmission throughout New South Wales, Australia...
, strengthened interconnection of the State power systems in eastern Australia, and the coordination of regional markets. It ushered in new directions in Australian energy policy and governance with long running effects. (See Energy policy of Australia: History and governance.)
Joint Taskforce on Intractable Wastes 1987-88
McDonell was also appointed by the Federal, New South Wales and Victorian governments to chair a public consultation and investigation of the regulation, storage and disposal of large volumes of hexachorobenzenes ('intractable wastes') throughout Australia. This led to new protocols for the import, export and transport of hazardous wastesInternational consultancy
In 1971 McDonell established an economic and planning consultancy for which he worked, between the 1960s-2000s, in about forty countries in Africa, South America, Asia (east, southeast, south and central), and in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, completing many projects.Some of these projects include:
- Energy market integration studies, East Asia, 2007 - for the East Asia SummitEast Asia SummitThe East Asia Summit is a forum held annually by leaders of, initially, 16 countries in the East Asian region. Membership will expand to 18 countries including the United States and Russia at the Sixth EAS in 2011. EAS meetings are held after annual ASEAN leaders’ meetings...
Research Initiative. - Yangtse Economic Zone (ShanghaiShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, ZhejiangZhejiangZhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
, JiangsuJiangsu' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
, AnhuiAnhuiAnhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
) Energy and Transport Study, 1991 - independent academic expert, Steering Commission, ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and World BankWorld BankThe World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
. This was the largest study to date in China sponsored by the World Bank, covering about a quarter of the country's population and GDP. - Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge: Regional economic, environment and transport appraisals and investment analysis. This has become one of the better known Australian assistance projects in Asia.
- Beira-Machipanda transport corridor, MozambiqueMozambiqueMozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
. Study for rehabilitation of major corridor linking to Zimbabwe and central Africa. - Development of civil aviation in Central/Southern Africa.
- Port development at Cotabato CityCotabato CityThe City of Cotabato is one of the cities of the Philippines located in Mindanao. Cotabato City is an exclave of the SOCCSKSARGEN region found within the boundaries of Maguindanao province, but is independent of that province...
, MindanaoMindanaoMindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
, PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, 1970s - for Asian Development BankAsian Development BankThe Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...
. Led to infrastructure investments in this area much affected by insurgency in the southern Philippines.
National consultancy
- Sydney Metropolitan regional hospital and health facility plans, 1970s- for NSW Health Commission. These studies, covering most iof the metropolis, included the first resource-allocation based planning models in this sector, with major effects upon hospital development.
- In 1982 McDonell was invited to become senior Deputy Director General in the Victorian Ministry of Transport, responsible to the Minister for the portfolio's investment budgets and oversight of the first public sector market-oriented reform program in Australia, covering all Ministry agencies in rail, trams, roads and ports.
- Studies for the National Electricity Market-see below.
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
In 1991, following the collapse of the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
McDonell was invited to join the newly established EBRD as senior adviser responsible for developing infrastructure, energy and environment investment strategies for the three Caucasian republics of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the five Central Asian republics of Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
, Kyrghyzstan and Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
. He was one of the first Westerners for about half a century to have policy access in these countries, and initiated infrastructure lending programs. His report commissioned by the Royal Institute of International Affairs Chatham House
Chatham House
Chatham House, formally known as The Royal Institute of International Affairs, is a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in London whose mission is to analyse and promote the understanding of major international issues and current affairs. It is regarded as one of the world's leading...
became a standard reference.
National Electricity Market
In the late 1990s and early 2000s McDonell provided the economic direction for a series of studies, generally in conjunction with Intelligent Energy Systems (IES) (www.iesys.com.au), of policy and structural issues in the National Electricity MarketNational Electricity Market
The National Electricity Market is the name of the Australian wholesale electricity market and the associated synchronous electricity transmission grid....
(NEM). Several of these produced notable innovations. They included:
-Analyses of the importance of the role of interconnectors between regional and State power grids and the technical and economic issues involved.
-The introduction of the ancillary services markets,. McDonell designed the economic principles for the ancillary markets: the system has led to large cost savings and greater stability control for the whole 4000 km national grid, probably the longest, single-operator system in the world. It was claimed by the official regulators to be a world first.
- In 2003, as the expert member of the National Electricity Tribunal, the industry's appeals body for the review of major regulatory decisions, he gave the minority decision on the controversial Murraylink/SNI process which had taken 6 years. His decision led to reconstruction of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's Regulatory Test, the key guideline on major transmission network investments.
Academic career
In 1988 McDonell was appointed to convene the Graduate Program in Science and Society in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of New South Wales http://www.arts.unsw.edu.au. In the early 1990s he changed the program into the graduate and undergraduate Interdisciplinary Program in Environmental Studies, with new collaborative engagements among several of the University's Schools and Faculties. Focusing on socio-political issues of sustainabilitySustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
, it is administered through the School of History and Philosophy within the Faculty, of which he is now an adjunct professor. McDonell pioneered advanced studies combining the understanding of transdisciplinary studies
Transdisciplinary studies
Transdisciplinary Studies are an area of research and education that addresses contemporary issues that cannot be solved by one or even a few points-of-view...
, the sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
of everyday life
Everyday Life
Everyday Life is the first solo album made by Life MC of the British Hip Hop group Phi Life Cypher....
and trust (social sciences), risk society
Risk society
"Risk society" is a term that emerged during the 1990s to describe the manner in which modern society organises in response to risk. The term is closely associated with several key writers on modernity, in particular Anthony Giddens and Ulrich Beck...
, sociology of science, and deliberative democracy
Deliberative democracy
Deliberative democracy is a form of democracy in which public deliberation is central to legitimate lawmaking. It adopts elements of both consensus decision-making and majority rule. Deliberative democracy differs from traditional democratic theory in that authentic deliberation, not mere...
. Scholars from the Program have made leading contributions to national and international research, policy and governance in toxic waste management, corporate and industry sustainability, national primary industry environmental reform and governance, environmental and constitutional law, regulation of gene technology, and in other fields.
Honours and awards
- Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and EngineeringAustralian Academy of Technological Sciences and EngineeringThe Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering is an independent non-government organization dedicated to the promotion in Australia of scientific and engineering knowledge to practical purposes. Professor Robin Batterham is the current President of ATSE....
, 1991 - Doctor of Engineering, University of QueenslandUniversity of QueenslandThe University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
, 1997
Professional affiliations
- Fellow, Australian Institute of ManagementAustralian Institute of ManagementThe Australian Institute of Management is Australia's largest professional body for managers. The sole purpose of AIM is to promote the advancement of education and learning in the field of management and leadership for commerce, industry and government. It is not for profit entity with branches...
, 1983 - Fellow, Institution of Engineers Australia, 1972
- Fellow, Royal Geographic Society, 1964
Selected bibliography
About 150 published volumes, reports, articles including- Minority Decision by Professor Gavan McDonell, Murraylink v NEMMCO, National Electricity Tribunal, 2003.
- "NSW Government Ownership in a Mandatory Pool: 'Neither fish nor fowl nor ...'" in G. Munro, V.Sands, eds, Power Progress, Australian Scholarly Publishers, Melbourne 2003.
- "Scientific and everyday knowledge, trust and the politics of environmental disputes". Social Studies of Science, volume 27, 819-863, SAGE, Edinburgh, 1997.
- The Euro-Asian Corridor: Freight and Energy Transport for Central Asia and the Caspian Region. Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, 1995
- Report of the Commission of Enquiry into NSW Electricity Generation Planning. 4 Volumes. NSW Government, 1986.
- Report of the Commission of Enquiry into NSW Road and Rail Freight Transport. 6 Volumes. NSW Government, 1980.
- Report of the Commission of Enquiry into Port Darwin and the Development of the Northern Territory. Administration of the Northern Territory, Darwin/ Department of Territories, Canberra.
External links
- University of New South Wales, School of History and Philosophy. Publications-see his entry under staff listing and publications at the School's website http://www.hist-phil.arts.unsw.edu.au.
- Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering