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Northern Australia is Australia's last frontier and also its most vexing economic development puzzle. People have long dreamed of turning its vastness into a bountiful bread basket. It might be possible. But there remain formidable challenges in the way. For over thirty years starting in the 1960s, the Australian government built a series of dams to divert the waters of the 650 kilometer or 405 mile long Ord River for irrigation. Over a billion dollars went into the project since 1950. And the water eventually did flow. But a (maybe) surprising thing happened: The farms would not make money. Links: - The Asianometry Newsletter: - Patreon:
