Search

This is a tribute to the late Steve Crook who shared with us the excitement of research on environmentalism. As we predicted, environmental activism in Australia remains socially circumscribed, but its scope, and the scope of environmental concerns, have been widening. Differentiation and proliferation of environmental issues combine with social diffusion and routinization. The pro- portion of people who see the environment as a salient issue continues to be relatively high, in spite of an increasing competition from new issue concerns, including security and illegal migration. The new `white' environmental issues enter the public arena reflecting widespread (though less urgent) concerns about genetic modification of food-crops and cloning of human tissue - all interpreted as `interference with nature'. The `white' environmental issues attract the concern of new social categories of `conscience environmentalists' who are more likely to be women, tend to be older, religious; and less attracted by green organizations. They are also less metropolitan in their location, and not as leftist and postmaterial in their value preferences as their `green' and `brown' predecessors. The formation of the `white' environmental issue cluster and constituency opens the way for new ideological reinterpretations of environmental outlook - and for new political alliances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the results of the ambient air quality NEPM (National Environment Protection Measure) initiated by the National Environment Protection Council (NEPC) in Australia. The overall purpose of the NEPM review is to evaluate the performance of the current NEPM in achieving the desired environmental outcome of the measure. Significantly, the next step in the process will involve the development of a range of Discussion Papers by the Project Team on proposed ways to address specific issues. The next step in the NEPM process will involve the preparation of a draft of the variation and an Impact Statement.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore environmental sustainability (eco-sustainability) policy and strategy adoption and implementation in Australian companies. Specifically, it assesses what influences the extent of organizational eco-sustainability strategy implementation. Design/methodology/approach – This research used semi-structured interviews with senior executive from a list of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) 200 companies in banking, materials, real estate and transportation industry groups. A purposive sampling method was used to select the most appropriate participants. The “elite” interviewing method was adopted with persons who are recognized as the expert in the topic under investigation. Finally, an interpretative approach to data analysis was used. Findings – The paper shows the importance of eco-sustainability strategy alignment with the overall business strategy. Similarly, organizational structure and systems are recognized to be equally important. The senior executives also agreed that shared values, passionate skilled and experienced staff, the Board and senior management, as well as governance, are critical in ensuring a successful adoption and implementation of organizational eco-sustainability policy and strategy. Practical implications – This research provides some understanding of how organizations implement their eco-sustainability policy and strategy and what influences the extent of their eco-sustainability strategy implementation, and answers to why each dimension is important for a particular organization was gained through interviews with the senior executives. This paper also facilitates a better understanding of the relative importance placed on each dimension as a factor influencing eco-sustainability adoption and implementation. Originality/value – Drawing on theories from various disciplines and the McKinsey Seven S’s framework, this paper strengthens the foundation for industry practitioners to understand what influences the success of the eco-sustainability strategy adoption and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 2016 Climate Action Network Europe review of national climate policies, Australia once again was one of the lowest at 57 out of the 61 countries. Australia's policies were critiqued for being "unambitious and uninspired". Numerous studies show that policies are often the key way to address human activity that harmfully warms the climate. Therefore Australia's unambitious policies require re-evaluation. Furthermore, taxes are a predominant way in which emissions can be reduced. Consequently this paper explores some of Australia's environment-related tax policies to determine what has best ameliorated humanity's affect on climate change in Australia. The paper carries out its evaluation of Australian environmental taxes by using the Institute of Fiscal Studies' behavioural economics-based framework (IFS Framework). The IFS Framework represents a formal attempt to integrate behavioural economics into tax policy analysis. Although extensive, in-depth analysis of Australia's environmental tax policies using traditional economic frameworks exists, there is little analysis using ideas from behavioural economics. Therefore the IFS Framework's use of behavioural economics presents an opportunity to evaluate Australia's environmental taxes in a new light. The paper analyses five Australian environment and tax related policy initiatives: the Sydney Harbour Bridge congestion charge (Harbour Bridge Charge); the abolished Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS); the new Emissions Reduction Fund with its safeguard mechanism (Safeguard Mechanism); environmental tax cases; and pro-compliance messaging. The paper's evaluation of these initiatives begins by referring to what insights the IFS Framework says behavioural economics has for that kind of policy initiative. Then the paper explores whether the initiative incorporates those insights. The paper therefore suggests ways that Australia's taxation policy can become more ambitious and inspired with respect to environmental concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific warnings about impending climate disaster and experts' advocacy for more and better climate science have been largely unsuccessful for advancing evidence-based policy in Australia. Continuing expectations to the contrary stem from a reliance on the supposed ability of science to prime political understandings of climate change. This paper shows how scientists undermine this 'deficit model' ideal by conflating types and uses of evidence and expertise in policymaking. These tactics are unconvincing for conservative opponents, for whom climate science is far from the last word on what climate change means. This paper examines experts' rhetorical tactics through the eyes of conservative policymakers and, thereby, proposes a strategy more likely to effect resilient climate adaptation and mitigation policies in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scale and intensity of bushfire activity in Australia is likely to increase as a result of climate change. Effective bushfire management policy measures are therefore essential to minimise the interrelated social, environmental and economic impacts of fire in the landscape. This paper presents a historical review of bushfire management in the South West of Australia (SW): a bushfire prone and biodiverse region. Using a worldview framework to analyse key policy documents and literature, the paper demonstrates that the evolution of complex policy sectors such as bushfire management, is influenced not only by scientific and technical developments but also as a result of changing worldviews. Adapting the Integrative Worldview Framework (IWF), seven worldview categories that dominated particular periods of history in Australia are presented. These worldview categories are then used to examine the evolution of bushfire management practice, policy and institutional arrangements relevant to the SW. The argument presented herein is that a better understanding of worldviews and how they influence complex and contentious policy fields such as bushfire management, is useful for policy analysis, reflexive practice and research. The paper suggests an integrative worldview approach, which enables opportunities for exchanges and constructive conflict between stakeholders and agencies with diverse worldviews, could contribute to creating more sustainable bushfire management. Finally, it is argued that opportunities for Indigenous and Western worldview exchanges in the bushfire management sector, through collaborative knowledge partnerships could assist the sector in both management practice and policy formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops the concepts of the climate discourse complex, and national climate policy regime, in order to analyse significant patterns in Australian national climate politics over the twenty-five years from 1988 to 2013. Six major discursive fields - scientific, ethical, economic, technological, political/legal, and 'everyday life'- contribute to the ensemble of discourses that constitute a climate discourse complex. The climate discourse complex in turn serves to frame and discipline climate debate and the articulation of a national climate policy regime. The composition of Australia's climate discourse complex has been dominated by the economic discursive field. Debates over 'old' and 'new' economic discourses have been the key drivers of and constraints on the trajectory of Australia's climate policy regime for much of the period under consideration. These debates have diminished and sometimes marginalized the influence of scientific, ethical and other discourses, contributing to Australia's weak mitigation ambition. The paper also suggests that significant changes in Australian climate discourses and Australia's climate discourse complex have largely been initiated by factors external to Australia, with the major shift occurring in the period 2006/2007. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the research potential of zines and the current issues around acquiring these disparate publications for Australian academic libraries. The paper reports a review of the literature and a brief environmental scan in the form of a survey, which suggest that Australian tertiary institutions are undecided or unsure about how and why zines could be a useful research tool in the future. It is argued here that zines are an important component of the cultural fabric of a freethinking, responsive and reflective society. The subversive and at times transgressive nature of zines makes the conscious collecting of these underground texts complex. A review of the current practices of international academic libraries and the survey results undertaken for the purpose of this paper, suggest that Australian academic libraries are behind their overseas colleagues in their consideration of these issues. Zines are important cultural documents that reveal the creativity, values and complexity of unrepresented marginalised youth, among others. The author suggests that, it is imperative that Australian academic libraries actively collect zines to preserve and make available for research, records of hyper-personal, contemporary texts that proffer to the reader an insight into the individual psyche of any given period in time. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE• Creating partnerships and engaging in conversation with zinesters and library staff can assist in the development and creation of a working collection.• Collecting zines for its research potential can be speculative; identifying the strengths of your current collection can provide a clear collection development policy for acquiring zines.• Educating and demystifying zine culture can assist Australian librarians in determining whether a zine collection is suitable for their institution. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

It is the promise of smart grids – their anticipated role in meeting economic, social, environmental policy objectives – that is driving action on smart grids worldwide, while the reality is rather more messy. This paper is about the implementation of smart grids in Australia, and examines the degree to which environmental and social promises have materialised (or not) within two large energy smart grid initiatives undertaken in the period 2009–2014: the federal government-sponsored Smart Grid Smart City Program and the State of Victoria's Advanced Metering Infrastructure Program. The analysis draws on a governmentality approach to examine how the promise of smart grids has not for the most part been delivered, concentrating in particular on how new digital technologies have not "behaved" in the way originally planned. Within a governmentality framework, it is generally assumed that technologies work to support government programmes, to accomplish governance. But growing evidence points to smart grid technologies undermining the promise of smart grids. Such a finding stands at odds with the assumption in governmentality about technologies doing work in consort with rationalities of government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the level of social capital in environmental community organisations (ECOs) in Perth, Western Australia. On a general level, social capital in ECOs is understood as intra-organisational and inter-organisational relationships that organisations maintain through interactions. Design/methodology/approach -- This paper utilises quantitative (i.e. survey) as well as qualitative (i.e. interviews) approaches to data collection and analysis. It proposes a methodological framework to measure the level of social capital, and explores the association between the ascertained level of social capital and organisational capabilities. Findings -- The results of the survey and interviews reveal that while the level of social capital is needs based, maintaining a higher intensity of organisational relationships puts ECOs in a better position to do more with less. Research limitations/implications -- The findings advance the task of ascertaining the level of social capital in ECOs from organisational interactions perspective. Originality/value -- This paper captures a community organisation-specific methodological framework to measure and analyse social capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has evolved as an environmental management and sustainability tool. Despite common principles shared by EIA globally, there are considerable variations in EIA processes across countries. In this paper, we reviewed and compared EIA processes of China, Queensland State of Australia and Nepal considering five key steps (selection of consultants, report preparation, public participation, report review and approval, and monitoring and evaluations) of EIA. Our review indicated that the EIA is well recognised in legal instruments in all state and countries under consideration and there are both similarities and differences in key steps of EIA. Monitoring of EIA recommendations and the integration of feedbacks from the past and current practices are important in improving EIA processes. This study also found that there are elements for possible improvement in existing EIA processes by each state and country introducing the best practices from others' EIA system. Some of the practices that Nepal can follow from the EIA processes of Queensland and China are licensing and accreditation of individuals and firms to conduct EIA, establishment of separate monitoring unit within regulating department, development of clear guidelines for approvals and monitoring, and the use of independent third-party auditing in EIA monitoring. The findings of this paper are useful in revising and improving EIA policies, practices and processes in the selected state, countries and elsewhere.

Background: Sustainable management of the natural environment is essential. Continued environmental degradation will lead to worsened health outcomes in countries and across generations. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a framework for viewing the preservation of natural environments and the promotion of health, well-being and health equity as interconnected pursuits. Within the SDG framework the goals of promoting environmental sustainability and human health are unified through attention to the social determinants of health and health equity (SDH/HE). This paper presents findings from a document analysis of all Australian environment sector policies and selected legislation to examine whether and how current approaches support progress toward achieving SDG goals on water, climate change, and marine ecosystems (Goals 6, 13 and 14), and to consider implications for health and health equity., Results: Consideration of a broad range of SDH/HE was evident in the analysed documents. Related collaborations between environment and health sectors were identified, but the bulk of proposed actions on SDH/HE were initiated by the environment sector as part of its core business. Strengths of Australian policy in regard to SDGs 6, 13 and 14 are reflected in recognition of the effects of climate change, a strong cohesive approach to marine park protection, and recognition of the need to protect existing water and sanitation systems from future threats. However, climate change strategies focus predominately on resilience, adaptation and heat related health effects, rather than on more comprehensive mitigation policies. The findings emphasise the importance of strengthened cross-sectoral action to address both the drivers and effects of environmental degradation. A lack of policy coherence between jurisdictions was also evident in several areas, compounded by inadequate national guidance, where vague strategies and non-specific devolution of responsibilities are likely to compromise coordination and accountability., Conclusions: Evidence on planetary health recognises the interconnectedness of environmental and human health and, as such, suggests that ineffective management of climate change and water pose serious risks to both the natural environment and human well-being. To address these risks more effectively, and to achieve the SDGs, our findings indicate that cross-jurisdiction policy coherence and national coordination must be improved. In addition, more action to address global inequities is required, along with more comprehensive approaches to climate change mitigation.

Purpose Air travel is becoming increasingly recognized as a source of greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change. This is particularly relevant for the university sector, which relies heavily on staff air travel for domestic and international mobility.Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative content and textual analysis of Australian university sustainability policies, documents and Web pages, this paper discusses the extent to which these organizations take the task of reducing emissions from flying seriously.Findings Universities fall into one of three groups in this regard. “Air Travel Ignorers” are organizations that either have no sustainability policy or none that recognize air travel as a source of greenhouse gas emissions. The second group – “Recognition without Intervention” – describes universities that do acknowledge the role of air travel in their carbon footprint, but do not propose any means to reduce the amount of flying they do. Third, “Air Travel Substituters” seek to substitute their air travel with a digital form of mobility, usually video conferencing.Research limitations/implications The authors then highlight the need to decrease and denormalize university air travel through shifting shared expectations of mobility for events such as conferences and meetings.Practical implications By way of a conclusion, the authors discuss the nature of air travel for Australian academia and the relationship between various forms of mobility, connectedness and co-presence.Originality/value This is the first comprehensive analysis of Australian university sustainability policies with respect to air travel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

‘Just transition’ (JT) is an increasingly popular concept developed by unions and adopted and adapted by academics, environmentalists, government and non-governmental organizations, and international institutions in recognition of the need to address social concerns and inequities emerging from efforts to address environmental problems. It has been noted, however, that ‘JT’ lacks both conceptual clarity and empirical evidence of its practical applications. This paper examines the ‘theory’ and practice of ‘JT’ by first considering the competing interpretations and conceptual understandings of ‘JT’ and second, the challenges of realizing a ‘JT’ in an Australian coal region where transition is occurring. The paper argues that achieving ‘JT’ requires more than government provisions and interventions and that unions must perform an active part in the ‘JT’ process through their relations with employers, workers, government, and community. It suggests the lack of clarity within the ‘JT’ literature may be the concept’s lasting strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many parts of the world the combined pressures of population growth and a drying climate have resulted in the proliferation of water focused policies which aim to increase the resilience of socio-ecological systems. Until recently, these policies often reflected surface water centric views of water resources, with groundwater receiving scant attention. In this paper we provide an introduction to the importance of groundwater for water-dependent socio-ecological systems and why it needs to be better incorporated into environmental water management policies. Specifically we highlight the key role of groundwater in buffering the environment and socio-economic activities against drought. We also outline some of the key challenges that face policy-makers and managers implementing groundwater management policies. These include dealing with groundwater resources that are spatially and temporally mismatched with surface water resources; transboundary governance issues; challenges between focusing on either preventative or restorative actions and most importantly limited knowledge about groundwater resources and groundwater–ecology relationships. We hope that the information in this paper will assist in the development of sustainable surface-groundwater water management policies, as well as highlight important challenges that should be considered before implementing groundwater related policies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

'Sustainability' provides the dominant frame for environmental policy debate, even though there is considerable debate to as to what sustainability is, why is it needed, and how can it be progressed. From 1999 through to 2010, Victoria was governed by Australian Labor Party (ALP) led governments that, at times, actively pursued the goal of sustainable development. This culminated in the stated ambition for Victoria to be 'world leaders in environmental sustainability debate and practice'. This paper explores the way in which sustainability was enacted by Victorian Labor while in government. The evidence indicates that the potential of Victorian Labor's vision was never realized, and that it failed to significantly reform the neoliberal policy settings it inherited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia's Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) regime is not aligned with environmental policy objectives of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from road transport. Unfortunately, the reform announced by the Australian Government on 10 May 2011 to remove the incentive for people driving excess kilometres to reduce tax liability is unlikely to significantly cut road emissions. This is because the reform fails to address other behavioural effects harmful to the environment, that is, the concession will continue to increase the total number of vehicles acquired, and distort employees' choice of vehicle towards larger, more carbon emitting vehicles. To achieve a significant reduction in road transport emissions will require improving the fuel efficiency of conventional vehicles as well as a gradual transition from fossil fuels to alternative fuels, both of which will involve technological advancement in low carbon vehicles. However, to bring such technology to the market will require consumers to make a behavioural change by purchasing low emission vehicles, and this will require Government support so that consumers are guided towards making such low carbon choices. This paper argues that the existing car fringe benefits concession is an effective measure to encourage a behavioural change to low-emission vehicles, particularly as over half of all new vehicles acquired each year are fleet vehicles under the FBT regime. This would also significantly build up the country's fleet of low-emission vehicles, as vehicles under the FBT regime are sold onto the second hand market every two to three years. Given this, the paper considers what reform is necessary to the car FBT regime to encourage a behavioural change that would build up Australia's fleet of low emission vehicles and support the environmental policy objective of significantly reducing road transport emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing theoretical insights offered by the Copenhagen School, in conjunction with a critical assessment of environmental security, the intention of this paper is to examine the ways in which Australia's 're-engagement with Asia' is getting increasingly securitized through both speech acts and practices relating to climate change and energy security. These acts and practices are dictated and driven by the state-centric 'national security' discourses on the one hand, and by the geo-economic imperatives of fossil fuel-driven models of economic growth and energy security on the other hand. The key question, in our view, then becomes: What are the actual or potential linkages (and contradictions) between Australia's self-image as an energy superpower, alongside its increasingly embraced normative role as a responsible international (and even Asian) citizen committed to effectively mitigating climate change? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional approaches to evaluation of environmental programs have tended to limit themselves to restricted measures of program effectiveness. This paper shows how a social learning approach can be incorporated into evaluating public environmental programs. A social learning approach is particularly suited to complex environmental challenges which are inherently difficult to understand, predict, and manage, thus complicating the evaluation process. The paper presents an Australian case study of dryland salinity management where there are major knowledge barriers impeding conventional management techniques. The research presented in this paper focused on evaluating a public demonstration program to track its impact through its design, implementation, and monitoring phases. The paper shows that, by incorporating social learning principles and practices, program evaluation can promote collective action, critical reflection, and increased knowledge to underpin improved environmental management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the uptake of environmentally sustainable housing in two major cities in Australia. The paper responds to literature that suggests sustainability is not so much a technological problem as an institutional one, and to theories of innovation which focus on innovation diffusion through chains of production. The disaggregation and piecemeal nature of innovation within the building industry is underpinned by unfamiliarity with new technologies, a lack of consistent legislation and pricing and unclear channels of communication. These generate uneven adoption of environmentally sustainable materials and processes within this industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper informs policy and programme development for capacity building within the context of decentralised governance arrangements by examining stakeholder perspectives about capacity issues. The capacity issues of Australia's network of 56 community-based Boards, governing each of its designated natural resource management regions, are explored as an arena of learning. The approach described facilitates stakeholders in considering capacity issues across human, social, institutional and economic dimensions and elicits a range of views about the nature of the issues. The paper provides a conceptual model for capacity building that proved a useful tool for supporting this process. The outcomes of workshop events with three key stakeholder groups in the Australian context are presented. The work indicates convergent and divergent perspectives about capacity issues between these groups, especially “insiders” (Board members) compared with “outsiders” (policy/research and Indigenous stakeholders). It suggests that policies and programmes (targeting and/or affecting insiders) developed by outsiders in isolation are not likely to address their issues. The need to collaboratively develop and implement capacity-building policies and programmes is emphasised, based on developing a broad, shared understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While Australia has signed both the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, it has failed to ratify the latter. It is nevertheless committed to meeting its +8% Kyoto target for greenhouse gas emissions, and argues that it is on track to doing so. This paper examines Australia's non-ratification politics and greenhouse policy efforts in an attempt to explain its contrary position of resisting Kyoto, yet embracing and pursuing its emission reduction targets. Australia's behavior as a carbon-intensive nation is highly significant in the global context, and this paper focuses on the domestic factors of interests, ideas and institutions, while also considering international factors in trying to explain Australia's non-ratification of Kyoto and climate change policy development. It finds that while ideas and institutions have been modifying influences in the domestic context, political and economic interests have dominated Australia's greenhouse policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first significant government sponsored community-based forest management project in Australia was initiated in Central Victoria in 2002. This paper analyses the initial stage of the Wombat Community Forest Management Pilot Project. The paper develops a functional concept of `effective community' for structuring community engagement in these kinds of natural resource management projects. The effective community has characteristics in common with a community of interest, adopts a bioregional perspective, embodies the values of environmental stewardship and interacts in a fully informed way as a `discursive community' (Meppam 2000). The paper offers general advice for organising effective community engagement in such projects and 12 recommendations for governments developing similar initiatives elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the reform of environmental policy-making by the Hawke government through its creation of the Resource Assessment Commission (RAC). The paper pursues two themes. First, it argues that this reform must be seen within the broader context of the Hawke government's approach to public policy generally. The paper argues that the Australian Labor Party (ALP) has instituted a model for policy politics based on key strategic and normative approaches—a model this paper refers to as 'Accordism'. Secondly, this paper looks at the RAC and in so doing argues that, on the basis of the norms that underpinned the reform of environmental policy-making based on this body, the Commission may be placed squarely within the 'Accordist' paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent commentary on future research directions for legal geography highlights the need for studies that are historically grounded and focused on human-environment interactions in rural settings. As a current, controversial land use in Australia, unconventional gas ( UG) development provides an ideal lens through which researchers can investigate these themes. Utilising emerging international literature and current Australian examples, this paper surveys major trends in the Australian literature relating to UG, before exploring some of the ways in which Australian legal geographers might contribute constructively to community debates around this resource. Seeking to encourage further analysis, this paper contributes to this developing literature by focusing on two key areas: the various legal actors involved in UG development in Australia (including their regulatory choices, spatial interpretations, expertise, and influence) and the implications for legal geography where attempts are made to establish 'social licence' through contractual arrangements between industry and individual landholders. This article also delves into the place of Indigenous Australians in relation to UG extraction and the questions this resource raises about land use conflicts in Australia more generally - offering suggestions for comparative international studies and further critique at the domestic level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widely held view is that effective action on climate change requires commitment by national governments to international agreements. Developed nations like Canada and Australia continue to fall short in their commitments to emissions reduction targets established under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Australia refused to ratify its Kyoto commitments until 2008 and Canada withdrew its commitment in 2011. Subnational governments in both countries have been active in developing policy responses to climate change yet remain largely excluded as serious policy partners in national mitigation and adaptation initiatives. This paper utilizes Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework to consider why subnational governments address climate change and the main factors shaping their policy choices. The experiences of the Australian state of Victoria and the Canadian province of Ontario provide examples through which to explore the factors contributing to climate policy opportunities and constraints faced by subnational governments in these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia is one of the largest coal exporting nations in the world and its economy is underpinned by the availability of cheap fossil fuels. It is well documented that it has failed to act on climate change, and that the conservative Howard government was particularly hostile to international action. It is also well documented that 2007 was an agenda-setting period when climate change was elevated to national prominence. This paper details and interrogates the ultimately successful Labor national governments' efforts to establish an Australian carbon pricing mechanism. It considers whether irresistible normative forces for climate policy change overcame the previously immovable object of economic and political self-interest, and the power of the carbon lobby. In explaining complex climate policy dynamics, temporal scales and politics, it finds great utility in John Kingdon's pragmatic 'policy window'1 as an explanation for Australia's climate policy change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local government organisations in coastal Australia have historically commissioned studies aimed at understanding risks in their locality to future sea level rise as a starting point for developing adaptation strategies to climate change. Therefore, the success of the overall adaptation activities of local government are strongly influenced by the way those initial risk studies are scoped and conducted, and how the outputs of those studies underpin subsequent adaptation planning activities within the organization. Mainstreaming of adaptation planning activities within local government is critical in terms of getting stakeholder support and required resources for its implementation. This paper analyses a sample of these coastal risk assessment studies across seven states and territories in Australia, with an aim to critically investigate the current state of practice among coastal local governments. First, we develop a typology of studies that have been undertaken by or for practitioners to understand coastal climate change risks, and discuss the applicability of the studies within the policy-making context of local government. Second, we identify a set of sample studies from the ‘grey literature’ through a systematic process and investigate to what extent they adhere to best practice risk management guidelines and principles, such as ISO31000. Third, we interview stakeholders from top performing studies to identify how/if the risk studies helped their organization in progressing their adaptation planning. We find that there is a significant inconsistency among terminologies in the coastal climate change risk assessment unpublished literature as studies use “risk”, vulnerability” and “hazard” concepts interchangeably despite their separate objectives and aims. Most studies perform poorly in evaluating risk against broader organizational criteria. Subsequently, it is difficult to integrate the findings of such studies into a broader organizational risk register, limiting opportunities for identified coastal climate change risks to be integrated into councils’ long-term strategic decision making. Conversely, the follow up interviews of studies that performed well in scoping and consultation in our assessment demonstrate that these aspects were beneficial to stakeholders in terms of informing adaptation planning. Importantly, the findings presented in this paper confirm the need for a consistent risk assessment approach for local councils in the coastal zone to underpin successful adaptation planning. This is a critical issue, not only for Australia, but for local government organisations globally given that sea level rise is a projected threat for all populated coastal regions worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pride in Australia's extreme climate has long been a part of Australia's national identity. Today, climate continues to be enrolled in a range of nationalistic projects, including the (re)development of climate science and other responses to climate change. In this paper, we outline some of the contours of the 'Australian national climate', claims to know it, and four idealised responses to it: bounce back, dismissal, endurance, and migration. We argue that the deeply cultural framing of climate in Australia-in particular, Australians' emphasis on the climate's inherent variability and unknowability, and their own historical adaptability-is being exploited by the federal government and hampering climate change mitigation nationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines how Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) farmers respond to water-related challenges such as induced by climate change and environmental policy. This is a critical and ongoing aspect of farming operations in Australia’s largest watershed. Using the 2013 Regional Wellbeing Survey data, we show that irrigators and dryland farmers adjust their production processes and business models using a wide range of strategies, with irrigators adopting more strategies than dryland farmers and investment-related strategies being the most prevalent form of adjustment. The extent of adjustment depends on farm characteristics: large, intensive-farming units, on-farm income-dependent and annual cropping farmers were more likely to adapt among irrigators. Irrigators also generally place more importance on water-related strategies than output- and input-related strategies. Amongst dryland farmers, hobby farming, non-intensive-farming and perennial cropping units were more likely to adjust than other dryland farms. These empirical findings inform the important debate about developing and targeting adequate policy support for structural adjustment of farming operations in the MDB. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Climate change discourse is increasingly gaining ground in the political arena, both as a possible explanation and/or outcome of different crises and as "a climate crisis" on its own. With an increasing number of metaphors used to describe the phenomena linked to climate change, "net zero" is one the fastest emerging frames, yet it is understudied. This paper draws on climate security research and looks at the climate change discourse in Australia with a focus on the "net zero" target. Is climate change an explanatory instrument in Australian election campaigns that can be ascribed as a political concern? Climate change has been an appealing but undeveloped topic in Australian political discourse. In Australia environmental concerns have taken ground after the bushfires in 2019 and the climate discourse had an impact on the 2019 and 2022's electoral campaigns. Climate change is arguably the fastest growing concern in Australian politics; it is fair to say that the 2022 election was "the climate election". This research adopts a corpus-based Critical Discourse Analysis approach for a systematic analysis of the "net zero" target in Australian political discourse, its political significance, and its resonance both in electoral speeches and social media in the last ten years. The corpus consists of presidential speeches during the elections and tweets by the Australia Prime Ministers in the timeframe from 2013 to 2022, also taking into consideration comments by users in Australia and worldwide. The analysis of the "net zero" target can contribute to a better understanding of how climate change is politically construed and communicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public sector environmental management involves complex and dynamic interactions between those responsible for the science, management and policy responsibilities of government. This paper presents the results of an exploratory study into the perspectives, experiences and understandings of senior bureaucrats from provincial/state and federal government agencies dealing with environmental issues across Canada and Australia. Participants described numerous social capital-related factors as influencing the use of science-based knowledge in government policy processes, including a lack of communication, trust and collaboration. Further, knowledge integration was raised as a major challenge facing governments seeking to enhance co-ordination among agencies and foster innovation. Participants also outlined a desire for more inter-disciplinary and socially robust environmental science to increase its understanding, legitimacy and relevance to decision-making. This paper offers grounded insights into some of the contemporary challenges and opportunities facing senior bureaucrats as they work to improve the connection between environmental science and policy in government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

‘Sustainability’ provides the dominant frame within which environmental policy debate occurs, notwithstanding its divergent meanings. However, how different discourses combine to shape understanding of the environment, the causes of environmental issues, and the responses required, is less clear cut. Drawing primarily on the approach to critical discourse analysis (CDA) developed by Fairclough, this paper explores the way in which neoliberal and ecologically modern discourses combine to shape environmental policy. Environmental scholars have made relatively little use of this approach to CDA to date, despite the significant interest in the discursive aspects of environmental issues, and its wide use in other areas of policy interest. Using the case of environmental policy-making in Victoria, Australia, this paper illustrates how neoliberalism and weak ecological modernization represented sustainability in ways that seriously limited the importance of environmental issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At a time of ever-increasing urbanization, research consistently indicates that crime and the fear of crime are key concerns for society and that safety is a vital feature of what is considered a high-quality sustainable environment. This paper critically inspects the theories and evidence from the field of environmental criminology and interrogates some of the safety assumptions underpinning planning policy in the UK, the USA, and in Australia, particularly those policies promoted by New Urbanism. It is argued that planning professionals need to consider and understand this new perspective for safer and sustainable cities, rather than relying on assumptions that are not supported by any systematic evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The terms “grandfather clause” and “grandfathering” describe elements of a policy programme in which existing participants in an activity are protected from the impact of regulations, restrictions or charges applied to new entrants. In this paper, the role of grandfathering in the design of a carbon emissions trading scheme in Australia is assessed. It is argued that adjustment assistance policies such as those adopted in conjunction with previous microeconomic reform programmes are preferable to policies based on the free issue of emission permits. The suggestion that owners of capital assets should be compensated for changes in government policy that reduce the expected flow of income from those assets represents a radical, and undesirable, policy innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on comparative review and analysis of the systems of environmental protection, national environmental strategies and fundamentals of environmental legislation in Australia and the Russian Federation. These countries have many socioeconomic similarities, such as low population densities and richness in natural resources which are largely exported. The main disparity between Australia and Russia is in the types of economy. This paper ‘continues’ the sequence of recent scholarly publications on comparison of various features of environmental policies in the countries from all over the world. Comparative analysis in this research has been based on examination of scholarly publications, legislation, government documents, mass media sources and NGO responses. The analysis has revealed a number of differences including top-down implementation of policies in Russia whereas in Australia, each State (Territory) implements policies with significant independence from the Commonwealth Government. At the same time, similarities between the countries have been identified: for example, in deficits in the budget of local environmental authorities and in the presence of contradictions in legislation at national and regional levels of government. Suggestions resulting from this analysis include further integration of sustainable development strategies at all levels of Australian government to encourage further protection of the environment and, for Russia, creating a separate Ministry of Environmental Protection. These approaches should assist facilitation of sustainable development for both nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and Australian Government climate change strategies are expected to change the Australian economy, society, and environment. Business, industry, households and communities will be affected in one form or another. Remaining responsive to existing and emerging information needs of policy makers, academics and the community is a key objective of Australia's national statistical office, the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This paper discusses activities to ensure the robustness of existing statistics to new government policies and new information needs that are emerging in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Civic participation in decision-making about the regulation of genetically modified organisms has become increasingly important in both Australia and New Zealand. This paper explores the somewhat uneven emergence of public participation in discussion and decision-making about GMOs in these different, but closely related contexts. Accounts of public engagement with decision-making about the regulation of GMOs are juxtaposed with critical reflections on what might appear to be opportunities for citizens to exert control over the development and use of genetic science. In this respect, the paper contributes to what Alan Irwin (2006, p. 300) has referred to as “an analytically sceptical (but not dismissive) perspective on the 'new' mode of scientific governance”. The paper concludes with some critical reflections on the development of enhanced democratic decision-making with respect to new biotechnologies, particularly GMOs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present the findings of a study examining tourism operators' responses to environmental regulation. Using evidence from five case studies in Eastern Australia, we assess how the three variables of the perceptions of environmental regulation, the perceptions of the regulatory agency, and the relationship between the operators and the regulators, can affect the responses of operators in sensitive natural areas. Our findings extend current literature on environmental regulation and highlight how operators' perceptions of environmental regulation significantly influence their responses to regulation. The paper illustrates the need to understand the regulatory relationship from the perspectives of both regulators and tourism operators. It concludes by addressing the practical issue of improving the regulatory relationship and the broader question of the human side of environmental regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, estimates of value for recreational fishing are reported for three major freshwater impoundments in Queensland, Australia, using both travel cost and contingent valuation methods. Policy analysts often require estimates of value when analysing the importance of recreation against other uses of impoundments, or when considering the potential for further investments, such as with fish stocking programs. Different forms of the travel cost method are used to estimate separate consumer surpluses associated with two key subgroups of recreational anglers: frequent and occasional anglers. A contingent valuation study is used to estimate the marginal values associated with a potential improvement in fishing experience. The results of the travel cost analysis provide strong evidence that recreational values vary between different groups of anglers and across sites, while the contingent valuation estimates provide values for additional marginal benefits of recreational angling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article outlines international measures undertaken to combat climate change and in this context discusses the potential legal issues faced by the Australian States and Territories in implementing a National Emissions Scheme. The article argues that when considered in light of the legal and structural issues that impact upon the proposed design of the National Emissions Scheme and the current ad hoc regulatory framework in Australia that attempts to regulate the emission of greenhouse gases in the energy sector, the National Emissions Scheme may create uncertainty and could impede an ideal regulatory model in Australia's attempts to address climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic and social considerations in natural resource management include the need for community participation and a greater appreciation of social and economic processes in understanding environmental problems. It is anticipated that new frameworks will guide these inclusions and redirect planning and management activities to achieve environmental sustainability. This paper examines issues of participation and the nature of ‘community’ through an analysis of relevant natural resource management policy documents and a case study of a public drinking water supply catchment in Western Australia. The findings indicate that if NRM strategies are to be successful, then a much wider and more inclusive view of community is needed, one that fully captures the different stakeholder groups beyond farmers, such as town residents, indigenous people, and those involved in other land uses. We need strategies that can accommodate differences within and between communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]