The Federal Government has announced the establishment of the National Sustainability Council for Australia, which will be tasked with providing independent advice to the government on sustainability issues.

 

Federal Minister for Environment, Tony Burke, said the NSC would deliver public reports set against key sustainability indicators.

 

 

"It was clear from the Sustainable Population Strategy that we need better information about how our economy, environment and society interact to inform better planning and decision making," Mr Burke said.

 

"That's why the Government announced the Measuring Sustainability program in the 2011-12 Budget.

 

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

 

"The indicators will help us take a longer-term view and consider how actions and decisions today affect the opportunities available to future generations.

 

"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 Council will be chaired by Professor John Thwaites, chair of the Monash Sustainability Institute and ClimateWorks Australia,'' Mr Burke said.

 

 

More information on the National Sustainability Council and the sustainability indicators is atwww.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