Sustainable development and legislative reform: lessons from the antipodean experience

✍ Scribed by Phillipson, M.

• Book ID: 101281505
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 117 KB
• Volume: 8
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0961-0405
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-0976(199801/02)8:1<15::aid-eet141>3.0.co;2-u

✦ Synopsis

This paper examines the divergent approaches to sustainable development adopted by Australia and New Zealand. Since the publication of the Brundtland Report in 1987, both countries have adopted policies to assist in the implementation of the concept but have chosen very different policy vehicles to achieve this task. Essentially, the Australian approach can be characterized as cautious and minimalist, whereas the New Zealand approach can be described as radical and state of the art. The reasons for the adoption of these different approaches are complex and provide useful pointers for other legislatures that may be attempting to grapple with the concept of sustainable development in a legal framework. In particular it is clear that there are constitutional and political impediments that exist in Federal systems that may inhibit the use of the most effective policy instruments. This paper critically examines the Australian and New Zealand approaches, with the aim of providing insights into the selection of the most appropriate policy vehicles for the implementation of the concept of sustainable development. 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.