Sorry Malcolm one doesn't need a degree in urban geography or economics to recognise a pile of the smelly stuff. Perhaps it is too many such degrees, & the arrogance they appear to engender in the holders that just might be one of our biggest problems.

Adelaide is like a tired old sheep dog, when the property has changed to running cattle. There really is no reason for it's continued existence, so should be allowed to fade away quietly. It will when GMH goes anyway, so now is the time to move elsewhere, anything worth saving.

The final straw in Adelaide's loss of support was their incredibly greedy grab for water. That they were happy to see thousands of irrigators made nonviable, just to fill an artificially fresh, water sky lake for them, on their doorstep, & avoid paying for water distribution to a few miserable farms, was the end.

The sooner they close it down, & turn out the lights, the sooner it will stop being a massive useless drain on the rest of the country.

"The founders of the various schools of economics were mostly born at a time when global population was less than 2 billion and the Industrial Revolution had unlocked enormous resources per person. They didn't need to worry about limits to growth."

Huh? That's like saying the law of gravity is different now than in Newton's time.

Resources are always scarce. Economics is about conserving scarce resources, that's why they put a price on em. Commodity prices tend upwards unless other factors come in to play to deflate them.

Where do you get this stuff? Alas while I have enjoyed our little tete tetes, I feel this may be our last. A Foundation of Economics by Varoufakis is a good primer. Best of luck with your no-growth thing.

I have nothing particular to say about Adelaide itself, except that it is not the sort of city that I would choose to live in.

But I do not see why anyone should regard it necessary to prop up its economy, simply so that the people who do choose to live there, find themselves somehow better off.

If the place is "dying", then for heaven's sake let it "die".

It won't, of course. It will simply find an economic equilibrium that is different to the one it has today. And if that equilibrium delivers a lifestyle that is more frugal than previously, so be it. People will still choose either to live there, or not. Just like they decide whether they would prefer to live in Townsville than Sydney, or Broken Hill rather than Broome.

There is nothing sacrosanct in the concept of a city-called-Adelaide. Or any other, come to that.

Incidentally, I had a chuckle over the lead-in...

"Like Cassandra the prophetess, standing outside Agamemnon's palace while his wife sharpens the knives inside, I fear for Adelaide's future"

I suddenly had this image of Cassandra writing to her brother... "Dear Helenus, I hope this finds you well. I am presently in Mycenae, my senses beset by the harsh sounds of steel on stone, and I find that I cannot rid myself of this fear I have for the future of our dear Adelaide..."

This article is too negative on Adelaide and some of the suggested solutions would hurt not hinder it.
Whilst its economy has been struggling in comparison to other states, Adelaide retains many positives for its future. It is one of Australia's five main cities and with a population which is about the same size as Auckland has a good base to grow.
It is probably the most liveable and affordable city to live in with much shorter travelling times to work. With Sydney and Melbourne becoming ever more expensive and congested, Adelaide will become a more attractive place to move to.
It has a good airport (with the nicest airport terminal building in Australia) with direct flights to all major Australian cities and to several overseas hubs, including Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and KL. It also has a good port and rail links to the rest of the country.
It has three good universities (including one in the Group of 8) and good schools.
It has lovely parks, heritage buildings and has nice beaches (albeit without surf) - it has the best beaches of any capital city after Sydney and Perth.
Stopping land releases for development in the north and south of Adelaide is a bad idea. To encourage economic and population growth Adelaide should focus on more development to have more affordable housing to encourage interstate and overseas migrants as well as encouraging business to move to their state.
Merging the University of Adelaide and SA would also be a bad idea. Both universities have different markets and should focus on these