Neo-liberalism and governing of natural resource management in Australia
Other Publication ResearchOnline@JCUAbstract
[Extract] Since the 1980s, rural land and water degradation has enjoyed a prominence on the Australian political agenda unheralded since the severe soil erosion and ensuing dustbowl conditions of the 1930s (Bradsen 1988). New, or previously unrecognised, problems such as soil salinity and tree dieback have become headline news. Salinity alone affects 2.5 million hectares of land and threatens to affect more than 15.5 million hectares if insufficient action is undertaken to address it (Madden, Hayes and Duggan 2000). The annual cost of rural land and water degradation is estimated to be at least $2 billion and likely to increase to $6 billion by the year 2020 (Madden et al. 2000). While it may seem self evident that environmental degradation on this scale should be considered a problem of national significance, such recognition is, in fact, a recent phenomenon. Following the severe erosion of the 1930s, state-based soil conservation authorities were established around Australia to undertake research and provide advisory services to those land users who voluntarily sought assistance to tackle soil and water conservation. Since the 1980s, however, both national and state governments have been far more active in the development of initiatives to improve land and water management. Such initiatives include the National Landcare Program (NLP), Integrated Catchment Management programs, property management planning (PMP), the National Land and Water Resources Audit, National Drought Policy, facets of the Rural Adjustment Scheme and a range of associated programs designed to provide more 'rational' and 'bottom-up' approaches to environmental decision making. billion and likely to increase to $6 billion by the year 2020 (Madden et al. 2000). While it may seem self evident that environmental degradation on this scale should be considered a problem of national significance, such recognition is, in fact, a recent phenomenon.
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All Change!: Gippsland perspectives on regional Australia in transition
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978-0-7326-2196-4
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9
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Monash Regional Australia Project
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Gippsland, VIC, Australia
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