ABSTRACT

Governments develop policies that set strategic directions on matters of national significance, referred to in this paper as strategic policies. Australia’s Commonwealth Government develops and influences national environmental and sustainability policies despite having limited constitutional powers in the management of natural resources. The Commonwealth Government has, over the past three decades, developed strategic policies aimed at sustainably managing forests, water, soils and agricultural lands. The design and implementation arrangements of environmental policies that have endured is not well studied, and this paper addresses this knowledge gap in the context of a federal system. The National Forest Policy Statement, the National Water Initiative and the Natural Heritage Trust have endured centre-left Labor and centre-right Coalition Governments, and serve as case studies. These policies have required structural adjustments to industries to varying degrees to limit impacts on the environment, leading to contestations about policy objectives. The policy cycle serves as the primary heuristic for analysis and the research finds that policy objectives are constrained by the Commonwealth Government’s limited constitutional powers on environmental matters. Its participation in strategic policies is driven through notions of resolving a crisis and the policies endure in a phase of indifference to the original policy objectives.

摘要

政府制定政策，为具有国家意义的事务设定战略方向，在本文中称为战略政策。澳大利亚联邦政府制定并影响国家环境和可持续发展政策，尽管在自然资源管理方面的宪法权力有限。在过去的三十年里，联邦政府制定了旨在可持续管理森林、水、土壤和农田的战略政策。已经存在的环境政策的设计和实施安排没有得到很好的研究，本文在联邦系统的背景下解决了这一知识差距。国家森林政策声明，国家水倡议和自然遗产信托基金已经忍受了中左翼工党和中右翼联合政府的影响，并作为案例研究。这些政策要求对行业进行不同程度的结构调整，以限制对环境的影响，导致政策目标的争论。政策周期是分析的主要启发式，研究发现政策目标受到联邦政府在环境事务上有限的宪法权力的限制。它对战略政策的参与是通过解决危机的概念来推动的，并且这些政策处于对最初政策目标漠不关心的阶段。这些政策要求对行业进行不同程度的结构调整，以限制对环境的影响，导致政策目标的争论。政策周期是分析的主要启发式，研究发现政策目标受到联邦政府在环境事务上有限的宪法权力的限制。它对战略政策的参与是通过解决危机的概念来推动的，并且这些政策处于对最初政策目标漠不关心的阶段。这些政策要求对行业进行不同程度的结构调整，以限制对环境的影响，导致政策目标的争论。政策周期是分析的主要启发式，研究发现政策目标受到联邦政府在环境事务上有限的宪法权力的限制。它对战略政策的参与是通过解决危机的概念来推动的，并且这些政策处于对最初政策目标漠不关心的阶段。