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Priority one: a sustainable agenda

By Michael Krockenberger - posted Saturday, 15 December 2001


This efficiency of resource use, whether it is reducing waste, energy use or water use, is a boost to productivity. It involves two facets: developing new sustainable industries and greening and cleaning existing ones. It is a strategy for both urban and rural Australia.

And given the make-up of the Senate, it should have a better chance than most other reforms the government could think up.

The reform should be started by establishing a National Sustainability Council. The core of the idea is there in the government’s proposal for a business roundtable on sustainable development. But it needs to be far broader than just business. It needs eminent experts in environmental sustainability. But above all it needs teeth, akin to those of the National Competition Council. Just as that body was empowered to sift through legislation, policies and practices to ensure competition, so a Sustainability Council needs to do the same to ensure sustainability. The lever is money - Commonwealth funds need to be tied to sustainability reform.

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Current subsidies need to be redirected. There are billions of dollars at state and Commonwealth level that foster activities that damage the environment. A recent University of Technology Sydney study identified an annual total of $6.5 billion for fossil fuel use alone.

Not all of these subsidies need to be removed, but if a significant proportion were redirected to more sustainable activities substantial reform could be achieved. The first step is a high-level inquiry.

The inquiry should also investigate the case for environmental tax reform. This is widely pursued as part of the European Union environmental modernisation agenda, and is the imposition of taxes on environmentally-damaging activities such as pollution and over-use of resources, with a corresponding reduction of taxes on socially-beneficial activities such as employment and innovation.

New revenue is needed to fight salinity. The best source is a means-tested levy akin to the proposed, but never implemented, East Timor levy. A recent ANU study showed that Australians are happy to pay more tax if it is directed at worthwhile projects such as the environment.

Australia must ratify the Kyoto Protocol. The longer Australia leaves environmental modernisation the harder, and the more expensive it will be. More expensive both in direct dollar terms and in lost opportunities.

Australia has a ‘hot, heavy and wet’ economy, one that requires large amounts of energy and water and produces large amounts of waste to create wealth. Australia needs sustainability reform to convert to the ‘cool, light and dry’ economy that will enable us to be a successful 21st century country. Nothing could be a more important reform agenda.

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About the Author

Michael Krockenberger is Strategies Director for the Australian Conservation Foundation.

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