State of Environment report, prepared in 1988 on key issues for South Australian government, sets a first for Australia
The State of the Environment report 2018, published by the South Australian government's Evironment Protection Authority, 30 years after the first report was prepared in 1988.
South Australia’s first comprehensive State of the Environment report in 1988, produced for the state government, was the first in Australia. The 1988 report addressed key environmental resources and sectors.
While the second report, in 1993, was being prepared, more stringent State of the Environment reporting requirements were written into the Environment Protection Act 1993. Later, the Environment Protection Authority was required to publish an State of the Environment report at least once every five years.
The Act specified these reports must:
• include an assessment of the condition of the major environmental resources of South Australia;
• identify significant trends in environmental quality based on an analysis of indicators of environmental quality;
• review significant programs, activities and achievements of public authorities relating to the protection, restoration or enhancement of the environment;
• review the progress made towards achieving the objects of the Act;
• identify any significant issues and make any recommendations that, in the opinion of the authority, should be drawn to the attention of the minister.
The Act also required the environment minister to ensure a copy of the State of the Environment report was tabled before parliament within 12 sitting days of receiving the report.
The River Murray Act 2003 added the requirement that State of the Environment reports for South Australia provide a specific assessment of the health of the River Murray. In particular, it requires reports to address the “objectives for a healthy River Murray”. This saw the report adjusted to cover around seven major environmental themes: atmosphere, inland waters, coasts and the sea, land resources, biodiversity, human settlements and heritage.
