Ecologically Sustainable Land Management

About the Inquiry

The Industry Commission was asked to report on ecologically sustainable management of land used for agricultural or pastoral purposes in Australia. In particular:

• the nature and appropriateness of the roles and contributions of Commonwealth, State, Territory and Local Governments and their agencies, and landowners, land managers and community groups to ecologically sustainable land management;
• the impact of regulatory, taxation and institutional arrangements on ecologically sustainable land management practices;
• the impact upon rural lands of urban encroachment, including the subdivision of land for hobby farms;
• the effectiveness of existing mechanisms, policies and programs relating to ecologically sustainable land management, including land and water resource policies;
• measures, including economic instruments, which could be taken to remove impediments to or otherwise promote the adoption of ecologically sustainable land management practices;
• the identification of adjustment issues, including groups benefiting from or disadvantaged by any measures flowing from measures which could be taken to remove impediments to or otherwise promote the adoption of ecologically sustainable land management practices;
• the development of a set of guidelines that public sector managers, landowners, land managers and community groups can use to promote ecologically sustainable land management;
• the regional impacts of its recommendations.