Minister's Foreword
The Howard Government puts the environment at the very heart of Commonwealth Government policy. A healthy environment is crucial to our wellbeing as a nation, while our natural, built and cultural heritage informs our national identity.
The State of the Environment Report 2001, the Australian Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment 2002 and the results of other studies have highlighted those key aspects of the Australian environment that require a policy response. These include land and water degradation, ongoing loss of biodiversity, atmospheric pollution, and the impact of our cities and towns on the natural environment. These studies underpin the Government's priorities as we seek to increase the sustainability of our resource use and management.
Commonwealth environmental policy today is more strategic, comprehensive and balanced than it has ever been. With the backing of a substantial increase in annual Commonwealth environment portfolio expenditure since 1996 and ambitious legislative reform, this approach is based on the belief that the sustainability of the environment is inextricably linked with that of industry, of governments and of regional and urban communities.
The commitment of the Howard Government to Australia's sustainability is exemplified by the Prime Minister's leadership in building a genuine whole-of-government framework for environmental sustainability issues.
The Prime Minister leads the Sustainable Environment Committee of Cabinet, and the Ministerial Oversight Committee on Energy, which oversees the development of Australia's long-term energy policy.
The 2003-04 Budget builds on this approach, with a total commitment of $2,014.5 million for new and continuing measures across Government, aiming for a secure and sustainable future not only for Australians but also for the millions overseas who benefit from Australian international environmental partnerships.
The Budget continues to support the revolution in natural resource management that is driven by the Commonwealth Government through the Natural Heritage Trust and the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality. With the $2.7 billion Natural Heritage Trust, including its $1 billion extension to 2006-07, and the $1.4 billion National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality, 2003-04 will see regional communities tackle the underlying causes of the nation's most serious environmental problems.
In 2003, the International Year of Freshwater, there are few issues more important to our nation than the efficient and effective use of our scarce water resources. The Government has committed $350 million through the Natural Heritage Trust to measures to improve water quality, and in 2003-04 will take steps with the States to restore environmental flows to Australia's food basket, the Murray-Darling System. As Australia puts in place a transparent and coherent set of nationally recognised water property rights, the environment and regional communities and irrigators will all benefit.
A new $16 million programme ($8 million from the Commonwealth over five years is provided as a new measure in this Budget and the Queensland Government has been invited to match this investment) aims to protect one of our most precious natural icons, the Great Barrier Reef, by improving the quality of its adjacent water catchments. For our oceans, $18.2 million over two years will help finalise Australia's first regional marine plan, and further develop the second.
Climate change presents a real threat to our environment and our economy, which is why the Government has invested almost one billion dollars in tackling this challenge since 1996. In 2003-04, the Government, in consultation with stakeholders, will develop a long-term Climate Change Forward Strategy. Through the Australian Greenhouse Office, the Government will continue to support industry, government and community partnerships to cut national emissions of greenhouse gases while maintaining a strong and internationally competitive economy. Internationally, we will continue to work for a global climate change response that includes all major emitters.
At the same time, the Ministerial Oversight Committee on Energy, chaired by the Prime Minister, will oversee development of a long-term energy policy to secure our position as world leaders in the use of greenhouse friendly fuels and renewable energy.
This Budget recognises not only the challenges that face Australia, but also our global environmental responsibilities, articulated at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. It will help Australia contribute to meeting the ambitious targets and timetables agreed to in Johannesburg, including the aim to halve poverty by 2015, and to find practical solutions through partnerships between governments, industries and communities by providing $320 million through AusAID for direct and indirect environmental purposes.
A whole-of-government approach to basing good policy on sound science is reflected in the identification of 'An Environmentally Sustainable Australia' as one of Australia's four national research priorities. Three of CSIRO's national flagship research programmes focus on the environment. Healthy Country aims for a 10-fold increase in the social, economic and environmental benefits of water; Ocean's Wealth focuses on the generation of sustainable wealth from our marine resources; and Energy Transformed supports Australia's positioning as a world leader in clean, cost efficient, secure energy.
The 2003-04 Budget contains $12.4 million of renewed funding over four years for the Australian Biological Resources Study to help fill the many gaps in our understanding of Australia's biodiversity, and to help land managers put that information to work. In the area of environmental protection, groundbreaking research will continue into the composition and effects of air pollution, of chemical waste and emissions.
As the Government works with land managers for a healthy country, and with marine industries for sustainable wealth from our oceans, it also works in partnership with industry, local governments and local communities for a healthy urban environment.
The Howard Government will spend $40 million over the next five years on new initiatives to improve the sustainability of Australia's cities and towns. Developed by the Government in collaboration with the Australian Democrats, this new Sustainable Cities programme includes a two-year extension of the Australian Greenhouse Office's photovoltaic rebate scheme, the possible introduction of Australia's first mandatory water efficiency labelling system, and a national green buildings programme. It will also support the full introduction and enforcement of legislation for cleaner fuel, further measures to protect the ozone layer, and manage hazardous waste and chemicals.
We will be working closely with local councils - the sphere of government closest to the people - on these initiatives and more.
In Sydney, a net $115.5 million commitment over eight years will be used to rehabilitate historic harbour foreshore sites and return them to the community as national heritage assets.
Finally, this Budget supports the Government's obligation to save money and protect the environment in its own business practices, with policies for sustainable purchasing, transport and land management. The Department of Defence alone, which manages three million hectares of Australian land, will spend more than $30 million in 2003-04 on sustainable management.
This document illustrates that the Government has a stronger, more focused response to the challenge of environmental sustainability than ever before. Having mapped long-term, sustainable economic growth by achieving institutional and legislative reforms, this Budget ensures further reform in energy, transport, greenhouse, biodiversity management and water policy - and a more sustainable future.
DAVID KEMP