Page 3323 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 12 October 1993
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In keeping with its interest in water quality management, the ACT Government has become a partner in the newly established cooperative research centre, or CRC, for freshwater ecology which is partly based at the University of Canberra. The principal aim of the CRC is to develop strategies for the sustainable management of freshwater ecosystems. The ACT is making an annual contribution of $100,000 in cash and $250,000 of in-kind support to the CRC over the next seven years. In return it expects to gain the benefits of research being undertaken on algal bloom management, environmental flows and biological assessment techniques which are of particular relevance to the ACT. The work being undertaken by the CRC demonstrates an often unacknowledged aspect of environmental research - that it can both save and make money. The old adage that prevention is better than cure has never been truer. The work being undertaken by the CRC on assessment techniques will be useful for the preparation of state of the environment reports, which is one of the main responsibilities of the newly established position of Commissioner for the Environment, the first statutory Commissioner for the Environment in Australia.
One of the main roles of the commissioner, Dr Baker, will be to provide an independent assessment of the ACT Government's performance on environmental management. In doing so, the commissioner will act as an environmental ombudsman, investigating community complaints about environmental management policies and practices of ACT government agencies. The establishment of the office of the Commissioner for the Environment demonstrates a genuine commitment by the Government to be accountable for its actions and to improve its environmental management practices. This will set us in good stead for guiding us in the direction of improved environmental management in the future. A separate allocation of $178,000 has been provided for the commissioner in 1993-94.
A further initiative which demonstrates the Government's commitment to excellence in environmental management is the current review of pollution control legislation. A discussion paper on the Government's intention to prepare integrated environment pollution control legislation is well advanced and will be released for public comment in the near future. This should ensure that we have a regulatory framework that will ensure protection of the environment well into the future. Development of integrated environment protection legislation aims to improve environmental outcomes by taking a holistic approach to the environment and fostering the principles of cleaner production and waste minimisation. It also provides opportunities for administrative efficiencies for both the government sector and the private sector, while ensuring effective monitoring and enforcement.
Although I have outlined a range of initiatives, I have only touched on some of the significant ones. The environmental budget is the most comprehensive source of information on the Government's environmental management programs. Most of this material will be linked in one way or another through a strategic document which is close to being finalised for public comment. The draft ACT environment strategy will be available for public comment in the near future. This framework strategy has grown out of the Government's commitment to an ecologically sustainable ACT. Ecological sustainability will be emphasised in the environment strategy and it will provide a framework for the development, review and revision of appropriate strategies to promote effective environmental management well into the next century. Flowing from this framework, it is anticipated that other supporting strategies and policies will be developed in consultation with the ACT community and people in the surrounding regions.
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