National Sustainability Council Australia

The National Sustainability Council Australia

 

Tony Burke, Minister for the Environment, has announced the establishment of a National Sustainability Council for Australia.

Mr Burke said the council would provide independent advice to the government on sustainability issues and produce public reports against a set of sustainability indicators.

This program will allow for the collection of data guided by a set of sustainability indicators that will measure the Government’s progress while delivering capacity for better planning and decision making.

The National Sustainability Council will report against the sustainability indicators every two years, highlighting key trends and emerging issues for policy and decision makers and communities around Australia.

The definition of "sustainability" appears to have diverged from "ecologically sustainable development"....

The indicators will provide information about our economic, natural, social and human capital. They will cover a broad range of issues including housing supply, broadband internet connections, water consumption, recycling rates, ecosystem protection, educational attainment, feelings of safety, under- and unemployment and mental health.

More information on the National Sustainability Council and the sustainability indicators is at www.environment.gov.au/sustainability/measuring.

 

National Sustainability Council

Chair

Professor John Thwaites, Chair of the Monash Sustainability Institute and ClimateWorks Australia

Members

Mr Rod Glover, public policy and innovation expert, and former Deputy Secretary with the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet

Dr Tom Hatton PSM, Group Executive, Energy, CSIRO and Chair of the 2011 State of the Environment Committee

Professor Graeme Hugo AO, Director of the Australian Population and Migration Research Centre and Australian Research Council Professorial Fellow at the University of Adelaide

Mr Mark Joiner, Executive Director Finance, National Australia Bank

Ms Romilly Madew, Chief Executive of the Green Building Council of Australia

Ms Sam Mostyn, company director and corporate sustainability advisor

Professor Sue Richardson AM, Principal Research Fellow, National Institute of Labour Studies, Flinders University