House of Representatives Standing Committee on Environment and Heritage

Productivity Commission submission

The Productivity Commission Submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Environment and Heritage was forwarded to the Standing Committee in May 2000. In this submission, the Commission draws on these inquiries to suggest ways to improve the implementation of public good conservation, and the design of environmental policies that may benefit, rather than harm, rural land holders. Specifically the Commission:

• argues that economic or market based instruments should play a major role in policy makers’ responses for addressing environmental concerns, and provides some examples of how economic instruments have been used for dealing with environmental issues;
• discusses some issues regarding the distribution of the costs of public good conservation; and
• canvasses other key requirements (reliable information and partnerships between government, industry and the community) that promote the effectiveness of economic instruments or other policy responses to environmental