Preface
The Australian Government welcomes the opportunity to respond to the inquiry of the
House of Representatives Standing Committee on Climate Change, Water, Environment and the Arts (the Committee) into climate change and environmental impacts on coastal communities. The report of the inquiry Managing our Coastal Zone in a Changing Climate: the time to act is now was tabled in the Parliament on 26 October 2009.
The Government acknowledges the work of the Committee in delivering its report and agrees with the major theme in the report, the need for national leadership and cooperation between all levels of government to effectively manage our valuable coastal resources, particularly in the context of climate change.
The Government is driving national reform which will enhance the sustainability of the coastal zone. The Government recognises that coastal management is an issue of national importance, and for the first time is driving inter-connected reform to help protect our coastal environments, ensure that urban development is sustainable and enhances regional productivity, addresses the growing risks from climate change impacts, and builds community resilience in the face of natural disasters. The Government intends to seek state and territory agreement to work through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to develop a national coastal adaptation agenda. This would provide an avenue to progress many of the outcomes sought through the proposal in the Committee's report to develop a new Intergovernmental Agreement on the Coastal Zone.
In addition, a number of key initiatives by the Government, working in collaboration with other jurisdictions, particularly through COAG, the Local Government and Planning Ministers' Council, and the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council provide a solid basis for an integrated national approach for the sustainable management of our coastline. The Government has commenced mapping out a framework and process to ensure these initiatives effectively link together.
Adapting to the impacts of unavoidable climate change is an element of the Government's strategy for action on climate change. The Committee's report complements the work that the Australian Government has been progressing through a number of major initiatives in close collaboration with state, territory and local governments. In particular, a number of the issues raised in the Committee's report are recognised in the Climate Change Risks to Australia’s Coast: a first pass national assessment (National Coastal Risk Assessment) released in 2009.
Both the National Coastal Risk Assessment and the National Coastal Climate Change Forum, held early in 2010, identified key knowledge gaps and issues requiring attention to develop an effective national coastal adaptation response to climate change.
Since the Committee's report was tabled, the Government has also released the position paper Adapting to Climate Change in Australia (February 2010) which sets out the Australian Government's vision for adapting to the impacts of climate change and proposes practical steps to realise this vision. Coastal management is recognised in this position paper as a national priority for adaptation action, and work continues to establish new processes for national cooperation in this important area.
These initiatives reflect the Government's commitment through the 2007 Caring for our Coasts election statement, to work with state and territory governments, local councils and others to develop a coordinated, national approach to coastal policy.