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Objective

Recommendation

Key issues

Objective

To advance sustainability processes and outcomes in Tasmania and to provide mechanisms to assist with the delivery of Tasmania Together goals and benchmarks through applying the strategic policy and planning instruments available in the Resource Management Planning System.

Recommendation

It is recommended that:

• A 'Sustainability Framework' is developed to guide the preparation and review of key environmental and natural resource provisions arising through: legislation; agency and council strategic plans, policies, strategies and management plans; State, regional and bilateral partnership agreements; regional strategies; planning schemes; and major projects.
   
• The sustainability framework should identify opportunities to apply the range of existing mechanisms of governance, including State Sustainable Development Policies.
   
• A 10 year review of the operation of the RMPS is undertaken with the involvement of the different spheres of government, the community, and industry in the State.
   
• The review considers the capacity of the system to deliver the RMPS objectives in the light of current and emerging environmental and natural resource issues, including those that may result in increasing public cost (e.g. coastal vulnerability to inundation).
   
• Regional Plans are implemented (e.g. Greater Hobart and Launceston) in order to develop shared and consistent solutions to issues, such as regionally important skylines, vegetation retention, access to services for outlying areas, sustainable transport solutions, flexible housing solutions, and integrated infrastructure planning.
   

Key issues

There is a need for a clearly-defined set of sustainability principles to be enunciated for Tasmania. The RMPS requires State direction and guidance on the interpretation of sustainable development, and planning schemes need to be prepared within a State and regional strategic framework.

Council Strategic Plans need to be more strategic and better linked with planning schemes. A 'Sustainability Framework', as a vision for the future, may be best considered as part of the Tasmania Together process, as many of the existing goals, benchmarks and indicators in Tasmania Together reflect 'sustainability' ideals. However, there is a need to establish mechanisms for implementing Tasmania Together through the RMPS.

The first SoE Report (1997) identified State Sustainable Development Policies that could be applied to achieve coordinated Statewide responses in protecting remnant native vegetation and integrated catchment management. Since the first SoE Report, the State Policy on the Protection of Agricultural Land has been finalised. However, other State Sustainable Development Policies could be developed to support implementation of relevant goals of Tasmania Together.