The development of the Commonwealth Coastal Policy

Commonwealth activity in coastal management before the mid 1990s has been described as policy development without action, or 'paralysis by analysis' (Haward & Vanderswaag 1996, p. 283). In its summary of previous inquiries of relevance to the Australian coast, the Resource Assessment Commission (RAC 1993c) reviewed 29 previous national inquiries and also noted 34 inquiries by state governments.

By the end of the 1980s it was clear that there was a groundswell of concern in Australia over the degradation of coastal lands and the pollution of coastal waters. Prime Minister Hawke's Statement on the Environment in July 1989 mentioned that coastal management would be referred to the Resource Assessment Commission. This statement was made shortly after the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Environment Recreation and the Arts (HORSCERA) had begun its inquiry into 'the environmental degradation of the Australian coastline and coastal waters'. HORSCERA consulted widely, holding public hearings across the country, calling for submissions in response to a discussion paper and organising seminars. Its report, The Injured Coastline, tabled in Parliament in April 1991, provided a clear, short statement of the major problems of coastal zone management in Australia:

• piecemeal development and the failure to consider the cumulative effect of developments, 'the tyranny of small decisions'

• fragmentary and uncoordinated coastal management arrangements; a multiplicity of agencies

• conflict amongst users of the coastal zone, and disillusionment with consultation

• lack of action by government agencies

• poor levels of knowledge of coastal processes and poor communication between scientists and managers.

While clearly stating the problems of the states and acknowledging the lack of resources of local government, the report did not refer to the fiscal imbalance between the tax-collecting sphere of government and the main coastal service providers.

To deal with the problems enunciated, the Committee proposed:

• regional coastal management plans by State and local governments

• increased community involvement

• the development by the Commonwealth of a national coastal zone strategy

• the provision of Commonwealth funding to state and local governments for planning and management consistent with the national strategy

• the development of Commonwealth legislation supporting the above, with the proposed Commonwealth EPA as the lead agency.

A number of recommendations on research, national water and wastewater standards, public participation, and the development of coastal databases were also made. The HORSCERA report noted that it maintained contact with the Resource Assessment Commission.

Six months after The Injured Coastline was tabled, the Resource Assessment Commission was given its terms of reference 'to conduct an inquiry into building, tourism and mariculture and associated development in Australia's coastal zone'. While the inquiry was to be about the sustainable management of resource development and The Injured Coastline was about environmental protection, there were obvious links and overlap between these two reports. In April 1992, Environment Minister Kelly responded to The Injured Coastline report by announcing that the Commonwealth would prepare an integrated policy on the management and protection of the coastal zone. This would be complemented by the work of the RAC.

The RAC's Coastal Zone Inquiry, which was completed in November 1993 (RAC 1993a), was a large and complex process involving intensive and widespread public consultation, considerable research, and documentation. Together with background reports, issues papers and regional case study reports from each state, the Inquiry constituted a major national review. The Final Report covered coastal resource use, management arrangements, ways of improving management, funding and implementation and proposed a national coastal action program. The RAC made 69 recommendations, involving all spheres of government, including recommendations involving an integrated approach between governments. Twenty-one of the recommendations related to a national approach involving integration, coordination and consistency; 34 related to the Commonwealth; 25 to the states; and 15 to local government.

Many components of the proposed national approach did not receive political support, including a Coastal Resource Management Act and a National Coastal Management Agency. This may well have been a matter of timing as well as a lack of a clear constituency for such initiatives. The recommendations were at a time when governments were reducing rather than increasing numbers of agencies, and there were no political or lobby groups to raise the priority of a national approach to coastal management. Also, this was not a time when traditional intergovernmental rivalry was any less than usual within the federation. The RAC Coastal Zone Inquiry has come to be regarded as something of a curate's egg: the good parts included raising a momentum which led to the Commonwealth Coastal Action Program and a variety of research and information-sharing activities by government agencies. The lack of follow- through on a national approach reflected the problems of the democratic system in dealing with a complex long-term issue.

The Commonwealth Coastal Policy of the Keating Government, Living on the Coast, was launched in May 1995, setting out the Commonwealth's contribution to the promotion of the ecologically sustainable use of Australia's coastal zone. The purposes of the policy were 'to provide a framework and guide for Commonwealth activities' and 'to provide a clear statement of the Commonwealth's position'. The policy also set out a number of management initiatives on funding, involving the states, local government, community groups and various institutions. Specific objectives were given, including sustainable resource use, resource conservation, and public participation. In 1997 the Howard Government revised the policy as part of the National Heritage Trust initiative. The changes included:

• improvement in the information base for coastal management (Coastnet and the Coastal Atlas)

• capacity-building through the Australian Coastal Management Conferences (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002), short courses for local government and community, and marine education and awareness building through Ocean Rescue 2000

• the production of a first State of the Marine Environment statement (Zann 1995) as part of the development of an Oceans Policy

• the Coasts and Clean Seas Program: a significant grants program to establish partnerships to reduce land-based pollution to marine waters, reduce threats to endangered marine species, and carry out marine monitoring

• the Coastal and Marine Planning Program

• a grants program for marine monitoring and projects to conserve endangered marine species

• the encouragement of community contribution to management through the Coastcare program

• a variety of programs concerned with marine management and pollution; integrated and strategic planning.

Funding for these programs is due to end in 2002 under the National Heritage Trust arrangements.