I suspect that this can be said of most State governments...

H


http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/editorial/victoria-a-state-in-dangerous-environ
mental-decline-20081204-6rgz.html?page=-1

Victoria, a state in dangerous environmental decline

Editorial The Age December 5, 2008


SO MANY official reports come and go that they can disappear with little
trace. Indeed, governments are often guilty of filing reports away, to be
buried under the flood of recommendations into the too-hard basket. That
cannot be allowed to happen with the inaugural Victorian State of the
Environment Report released yesterday by Sustainability Commissioner Ian
McPhail. The findings are simply too critical for our future well-being to
be ignored by Victorians, whether they be Government ministers or members
of the public.

<http://www.ces.vic.gov.au/CES/wcmn301.nsf/childdocs/-FCB9B8E076BEBA07CA2574F100
040358?open>

The first report to tackle the full dimensions of Victoria's
environmental issues should jolt us all into taking stock of our way of
life. It comprehensively outlines how unsustainable this has become: "If
everyone lived liked Victorians, almost four planets would be needed."
Rampant consumption outpaces efficiency gains such as recycling: 60 per
cent of waste is now diverted from landfill, but total waste output per
person doubled between 1993 and 2006. "We simply cannot continue to
maintain our standard of living through the gradual and continued
degradation of the natural environment," Dr McPhail warns.

The report is an indictment of disjointed policies with conflicting
impacts. Even the overarching threat of climate change has yet to trigger
a consistent, whole-of-government policy response. In a week when the
Government relaxed limits on urban sprawl and unveiled more road projects,
Dr McPhail laments the failure to join the dots between issues on the
public radar, such as climate change and water supply, and other policies
with a direct bearing on these problems. "There is still a tendency to see
agriculture policy as separate from ecosystem management, yet the first is
utterly dependent on the second to see urban form, subdivision design and
architecture as distinct from energy and water efficiency to see low-cost
purchase as distinct from life-cycle costs and operating and replacement
expense."

Responsibility is shared between government and individuals. For
instance, planning laws perpetuate urban sprawl dominated by ever-larger
houses, occupied by fewer people and poorly served by public transport.
Yet individuals create the pressure for more low-density development;
witness the public backlash last year when Planning Minister Justin Madden
dared lament the environmentally unsustainable trend to "McMansions". The
report observes that "community support for government leadership is
needed". New buildings lag behind world-best design standards. They waste
water and energy, as permitted by lax building codes.

The result has been a surge in demand for electricity, 95 per cent of
which comes from brown coal, "the most greenhouse-polluting energy source
in Australia". While the state's emissions have jumped 12 per cent since
1990, only 4 per cent of its electricity comes from renewable sources. On
top of old-fashioned energy policy, "transport contributes 17 per cent of
total greenhouse gas pollution largely due to our vehicle-dominated urban
design and freight". The latest transport plan promises yet more roads,
but has at least added new rail lines to the queue of projects.

The assessment of diminishing "natural" areas, which are more usually
seen as the domain of environmental policy, is no less alarming. When it
comes to the crunch, waterways and wetlands lose out to human demands as
"the current allocation system reduces environmental flows more than it
reduces water for consumption". Most inland waters are degraded. Many
species that inhabit them are threatened.

The picture of land degradation and loss of biodiversity is bleak. The
report bluntly states: "The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 is failing
to meet its stated objectives." The number of rare and threatened species
in Victoria 157 animals and 778 plants - increased between 2002 and 2007.
Climate change is compounding existing pressures on the land and wildlife.

The economic cost of land degradation totals billions of dollars. Even if
only out of self-interest, Victorians must accept the need for change to
sustain a reasonable standard of living. The report cites air quality and
atmospheric ozone recovery as rare examples of good news resulting from
higher and, in the short term, costlier environmental standards. It also
notes the voluntary cuts in personal water use, while pointing out the
limits of such measures. The report implicitly challenges the Government's
preference for energy-hungry desalination and long pipelines over measures
such as rainwater tanks, stormwater harvesting and recycled water.

In particular, The Age commends the recommendations on energy-and-water
-efficient building standards, public transport provision, renewable and
low-emission energy sources, the protection of biodiversity and the need
to "engage with the community" on drinking purified recycled water an
option ruled out because of political sensitivities. But the overriding
message is this: the Government "must lead and become more strategic and
future-focused" so that all areas of economic and social policy are made
consistent with environmental sustainability as a matter of course. If
Victorians continue to insist on living in a fools' paradise, our own
wellbeing will eventually suffer as badly as the state's environment.
-----
The report is downloadable from:

http://www.ces.vic.gov.au/CES/wcmn301.nsf/childdocs/-FCB9B8E076BEBA07CA2574F1000
40358?open




Dr Ian McPhail AM is the inaugural Commissioner for Environmental
Sustainability in Victoria. Beginning his tenure in November 2003, Dr
McPhail relocated from Queensland, where he was previously the Deputy
Director-General of the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency.

Dr McPhail has extensive experience in senior roles across state and
federal government agencies. His previous positions include Executive
Director of the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, Chair of the Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the inaugural Executive Director of the
Commonwealth Environmental Protection Agency, and the CEO of a number of
agencies in South Australia.

The Commissioner began his professional life as a school teacher. His
commitment to the environment initially as an academic geographer and
widely experienced public servant has since taken him around Australia and
the World, resulting in an exciting and rewarding career. Some of Dr
McPhail's career highlights include participating in the Rio de Janeiro
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, and the
Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002.

Dr McPhail has the unique experience of being sequentially a Commissioner
of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission for three governments - South
Australia, the Commonwealth and Queensland.

While he was Chair of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Dr
McPhail participated in the development of Australia's Ocean Policy, which
resulted in, among other developments, the creation of the National Oceans
Office.

In 2002 Dr McPhail was appointed a member in the Order of Australia (AM)
for service to conservation and the environment. He was particularly
commended for the development of government policies and programs, and for
the reform of national parks and wildlife administration in Australia.

As Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability in Victoria, Dr McPhail
has a number of clearly defined statutory roles. He looks forward to the
closest possible relationship with interested individuals and organisations
in the fulfilment of these tasks.


........................................

send them a bouquet

Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability
16/570 Bourke Street
Melbourne 3000
Victoria, Australia

Email: info.ces@...
Phone: +61 3 8636 2197
Fax: + 61 3 8636 2099