Daniel Montoya, BSc(Env) (Hons)

PhD Candidate

Madsen Building (F09), Room 420
Phone: +61 2 9351 7669
Fax: +61 2 9351 3644
Email:

Supervisor
Dr Phil McManus

PhD title: Water Management in the Murrumbidgee: Relational Proximity between the Community and the Government

Daniel’s research looks at community-government relationships in water management in the Murrumbidgee catchment, NSW. The quality of relationships between individuals and groups in water management is a key to effective water management. Our society takes relationships for granted taking them as a means to an end – personal satisfaction, civil society or effective water management. Relationships must be seen not only as having a specific goal but also as being an end in themselves if they are to function properly. We live and work within a myriad of relationships, and these affect and are affected by that which we set out to achieve. It is therefore important to understand how these relationships are structured and how they work in order to improve them for whatever end is in mind.

The thesis will apply the principles of Relationism to water management in the Murrumbidgee. Work done by a group in England called the Relationships Foundation has begun to think through how to apply the belief that relationships are the most important thing in life to all areas of life. Their philosophical worldview – Relationism – is based on the belief that reality is ultimately personal and relational. More specifically, the thesis will apply their concept of relational proximity – a concept which examines the interaction between two people, or groups – to understanding and improving community-government relationships. This thesis will have implications for water policy and management in Australia.