Chapter 4: Strategies and Tools

ENVIRONMENT ASSESSMENT AND APPROVALS

The Australian Government, through the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, continues to protect matters of national environmental significance: nationally threatened species and ecological communities, internationally important wetlands, migratory species, World Heritage properties, National Heritage places, the Commonwealth marine environment, and protecting the environment from nuclear actions.

The Act’s streamlined and efficient environmental assessment and approvals process is world’s best practice and provides a very effective means for the Government to achieve environmental outcomes of national importance.

The first external performance review of the administration of the Act, conducted by the Australian National Audit Office in 2003, concluded that the Act’s administration is sound and effective. The Productivity Commission, in the course of inquiring into the impact of native vegetation regulation in late 2003, made a draft finding that the Act met more of the criteria for good regulation than legislation in other jurisdictions, particularly by setting out time limits for consideration of applications and taking economic and social factors into account in the approvals process.

The inclusion of National Heritage places as a matter of national environmental significance has strengthened the Act. The Act has also been made more effective through provisions which deal with staged developments and which enforce decisions that a development can be undertaken without approval provided that the development is undertaken in a particular manner to avoid significant impacts on matters protected by the Act.

Potential users have been provided with increased guidance on the operation of the Act. Targeted awareness raising activities have given some proponents practical assistance on the operation of the Act.

The Act continues to encourage development interests to communicate with the Department of the Environment and Heritage early in the project design phase. This helps ensure that effective environment protection measures are incorporated in project designs prior to making a referral. This, in turn, means that the project may not need to be assessed and approved under the Act.

Several developments will enhance environmental outcomes under the Act during 2004-05. More industry sector guidelines will provide improved guidance on what actions are likely to have a significant impact on the matters protected by the Act. Landholders will be assisted through the use of conservation agreements to carry out biodiversity conservation initiatives. The Department’s monitoring and audit effort will be enhanced to ensure compliance with approval and ‘particular manner’ conditions.

SCIENCE SUPPORTING POLICY DEVELOPMENT

Science, innovation and technology can contribute significantly to the sustainability of our continent. This supports the Government’s National Research Priorities, specifically, responding to Climate Change and Variability (An Environmentally Sustainable Australia), as we continue to integrate evidence-based science and sound policy development.

In 2004-05, the Government will continue to support its investments in environmental and natural resource management through:

marine scientific research including analysis of global trends, international action and challenges on the mitigation of marine wildlife bycatch, sustainable fish stocks, predicting climate impacts upon marine ecosystems, conservation of marine biodiversity, water quality of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, sustainable development of tropical marine resources, and deriving benefits from marine biotechnologies;
the Cooperative Research Centres which facilitate strategic and collaborative research between industry, research organisations, and universities. Cooperative Research Centres address a broad range of national environmental issues, including managing invasive species, dryland salinity, water quality, sustainable fisheries, greenhouse accounting, sustainable tourism, Antarctic and Southern Ocean sustainability, and bushfire management, prevention and education;
scientific research into climate variability and forecasting, groundwater and surface water management, waste management, sustainable natural resource management and sustainable cities, and air quality;
research and application of nuclear related technologies in areas such as global climate change, weather and climate prediction models, atmospheric pollution and water resource management strategies, and mitigation of potential climate change impacts;
geo-scientific research into the development of a national risk assessment framework to support the Disaster Mitigation Australia Package, that will help to redress the adverse impacts of natural disasters in Australia;
Australia’s Antarctic Science Programme; and
review and monitoring of environmental management practices to improve the sustainability of government activities and operations through environmental management systems, and environmental monitoring programmes for technical development.

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

The Government has continued to work with the National Environmental Education Council to promote a better understanding of the environment and what needs to be done to sustain it. Activity has focused on education initiatives for business and industry, community, further and higher education and formal schooling.

Achievements include an increased profile for environmental education through the establishment and activities of the National Environmental Education Council; improved coordination and use of resources for environmental education nationally through the National Environmental Education Network; a more informed approach to new environmental education initiatives through an applied research programme with Macquarie University; and an enhanced approach to environmental education in schools. Up to 300 schools are participating in the trial of the Sustainable Schools Programme. This has seen some schools cut their waste to landfill by up to 90 per cent, achieve savings in water costs of up to $3000 per year, and substantially increase the biodiversity of their grounds.

INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND ASSISTANCE

Australia continues to be an influential and constructive player in the international environment, making tangible contributions to sustainable development both globally and regionally.

Following agreement at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) agreed on water sanitation and human settlement themes for 2004-05 cycles of CSD discussions. Australia has helped shape the issues for negotiations in 2005, with a particular emphasis on water management, sound governance, and water trading. Australia is also supporting the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation negotiated at WSSD, which covers issues relating to sustainable cities, including poverty, education and sustainable consumption and production.

Managing and preventing environmental degradation is integral to the Government’s international development cooperation objectives of reducing poverty and ensuring sustainable development in developing countries. Australia contributes significantly to international environmental development cooperation through bilateral, regional and multilateral action. In 2004-05, Australia will provide an estimated $280 million for activities that address environmental problems in developing countries.

The Government continues to assist Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the South Pacific region to improve their environmental governance and natural resource management capacities. Support for multilateral activities includes the Global Environment Facility, the United Nations Environment Programme and the Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund to assist with global efforts to repair the ozone layer.

In 2004-05, Australia will continue to participate in negotiations on trade and environment issues. Australia will participate in the World Trade Organization Committee on Trade and the Environment and negotiations in its Special Session. There were also negotiations on environment issues in the free trade agreement with the United States.

The Government continues to support international environmental health issues through annual contributions to the World Health Organization and the International Programme on Chemical Safety. These contributions assist countries to achieve safe, sustainable and health-enhancing human environments.

Through its participation in the Australia/United States Climate Action Partnership, Australia also developed proposals with US contacts to enhance seasonal climate prediction capacity in Pacific Island countries aimed at reducing impacts on agriculture and other sectors of the economy through improved planning.

As a part of Australia’s international development cooperation programme, the Government funds agricultural research activities aimed at delivering benefits to developing countries. In 2004-05, the Government will invest $1.2 million on research projects aimed at reducing and/or remediating environmental damage from agricultural practices, managing natural resources such as forests, soils, water supplies and marine fisheries, and developing measures to control threats from invasive species.

TAX CONCESSIONS & INCENTIVES

The Government provides a range of environmental taxation concessions and incentives. They include:

the opportunity for a donor, who has donated a gift of $5,000 or more to an environmental organisation or the National Trust, to claim the donation against their tax returns over a five-year period;
tax deductible donations to environmental organisations with deductible gift recipient status through the Register of Environmental Organisations. In 2002-03 tax deductible donations to organisations listed on the Register were over $55 million, an increase from $12 million over the term of the Howard Government;
concessional capital gains tax or income tax deductions for landowners who enter into conservation covenants with eligible organisations;
a tax offset for primary producers and users of rural land for capital expenditure on soil conservation, prevention of land degradation, and related measures;
tax deductions for primary producers and users or rural land for water conservation and amelioration of degraded lands;
tax deductions for expenditure incurred on environmental impact statements and remediation; and
funding of incentive payments to eligible organizations that re-use or recycle waste oil through the imposition of a levy on lubricating oils and similar products under the Product Stewardship Arrangements for Waste Oil Programme.