Page 4703 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 7 December 1994
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concerns, such as waste management, contaminated site management and aspects of soil conservation. I believe that the proposed legislation is a key component of this Government's strategic response to environmental issues. The Government's vision for Canberra in the future, described in the report that I just released, sees Canberra as a centre of excellence in environmental planning and management. The Government's commitment to this goal is demonstrated through its actions, such as the creation of the Office of the Commissioner for the Environment, an independent ombudsman for environmental issues.
I am pleased to note that the commissioner's recent "State of the Environment Report" acknowledges the importance of this proposed legislation. The report states that the proposed legislation "should provide the building block for integrated environmental management in the ACT". It goes on to state:
This office strongly supports the concept of integrating all environmental protection legislation and management.
The proposed legislation will build on initiatives already taken and will help ensure that Canberrans continue to enjoy high environmental standards. It deals with three major issues that face governments today.
The first of these is that it will allow the ACT to cope with changes as we move into the future. The preferred approach to the legislation is flexible enough to deal with future environmental protection issues as they develop, as well as the issues currently confronting us. It is also flexible enough to address issues such as environmental education and to provide incentives for voluntary compliance, as well as control and enforcement. This flexibility is achieved through statutory environment protection policies. The discussion paper suggests that the policies support the legislation by setting out environmental management information and requirements, including standards, indicators, and management guidelines. Initially, policies would deal with issues such as air, water, noise and ozone. Later, policies could be developed to manage specific areas such as water catchment, or industries such as advanced technology manufacturing.
The second key issue that the proposed legislation responds to is the changing view of the environment and our responsibility towards it. The trend in environmental law in recent years is towards the development of more flexible mechanisms to prevent or minimise environmental harm, rather than the regulation of pollution. A key concept helping to shape this change is the general duty of care. This concept, which is included in the proposed legislation, requires all people to take steps to minimise or prevent environmental impacts. The responsibility extends to individuals, the public and the private sectors, and corporate officers. Protection of the environment will no longer be seen as the sole responsibility of government. The general duty of care recognises this change in emphasis and places responsibility for environmental protection where it belongs - with all of us. Another important aspect of this responsibility reflected in the discussion document is an emphasis on managing activities as a whole. Thus, under the proposal for environmental authorisations, all potential environmental impacts of an activity would be considered, rather than just licensing a water discharge or some other facet of an activity.
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