State of the Environment Report demanded amid funding concerns

The state’s government’s failure to produce a legally-mandated environment report for the entire time the Liberals have been in power needs to be fixed by a budget boost to get the job done, campaigners say.

Director of the Australia Institute Tasmania Eloise Carr speaks to the media on Parliament Lawns in Hobart on Thursday, March 10, 2022.

The state’s government’s failure to produce a legally-mandated environment report for 15 years needs to be fixed by a big budget boost to get the job done, campaigners say.

A coalition of groups led by the Australia Institute says the State of the Environment Report is supposed to be published every five years to update Tasmanians on the nature and scale of changes to the natural environment.

It was published in 1997, 2003, 2009 but has not been seen since. A lack of funding has been blamed.

Minister for Planning Michael Ferguson said “the independent Tasmanian Planning Commission will produce a State of the Environment Report in accordance with the requirements of the Act and as directed by the Minister for Planning by June 2024.

“The Commission indicated that they needed an additional $400,000 to undertake this task, and this was provided for in the most recent Budget.”

A new report published on Friday, “Get Your Skates On: Tasmania’s next State of the Environment Report” called for a substantial investment in funding to make up for the long-standing lack of comprehensive environmental analysis and reporting.

Australia Institute Tasmania director Eloise Carr speaks to the media on Parliament Lawns in Hobart on Tuesday, April 27, 2021.

“With a delay of a decade, Tasmania has fallen significantly behind the rest of Australia in terms of environmental reporting, Executive Director of the Australia Institute Tasmania Eloise Carr said.M

only affects our environmental stewardship but also hinders our ability to make informed, responsible decisions that would ensure a sustainable future for all Tasmanians.

“There are less than 12 months until the overdue report should be delivered, and almost 15 years of environmental data to be considered.”

Among the recommendations:

* ongoing funding of at least $1.1m to adequately resource production the SOE Report.

* The Tasmanian Planning Commission should release its plans for the SOE Report and clearly outline what the report will cover, including the methodology and indicators it will use.

* The TPC should modernise and standardise its reporting framework and adopt best practice for Tasmania’s next SOE Report.

Jennifer Sanger from the Tasmanian Science Council said the Tasmanian needed to lift its game.

“The State of the Environment report is long overdue, and we are lagging behind other states in terms of this type of reporting,” she said.

“Additional funding needs to be allocated, we need better transparency on what the report will cover, and it needs to be given greater urgency and detail. Tasmania’s environment is our most important asset, and we must take care of it.”