contamination, nutrient loss and soil structure decline.
1 Soil conservation legislation
was one of the first areas of natural resource law and remained prominent until the
1980s and has been introduced to deal with the different forms of land degradation.
Australia is a federation of a national government, six states and two territory
governments (i.e. nine jurisdictions).
2 Legislatively, soil conservation is a state
responsibility and, although the Australian Constitution 1900
3 (hereafter the “Constitution”) does not provide specifically for the natural environment, this has not
prevented the Commonwealth from taking a comprehensive and active leadership in
soil conservation, from a strategic perspective and providing financial resources.
4 At
the state level, seven of the eight jurisdictions had some form of soil conservation
law until the 1980s. By 2018 only five states retained a specialist soil conservation
law. In the 20 years between 1980 and 2000, the activity of soil conservation was
increasingly viewed as a major ecological issue in Australia and integrated within
comprehensive environmental law systems. In this regard, the remaining specialist
soil conservation laws play a subordinate role to the integrated natural resources laws
in environmental assessment, planning and management of soil resources.
5 Using
the standard Australian definition of ‘soil conservation’ as a guide as to which
consolidated laws relate to that definition indicates that there are around 200 individual laws in Australia that play a prominent role in the implementation of soil
conservation.
6 These laws are categorised into three separate categories according to
the level they contribute to achieving the soil conservation objective.
7
1 Australia State of the Environment 1996 and 2006. These reports describe the various forms of
land degradation in Australia, their extent and, where data is available, trends.
2 In this chapter a reference to “states” means the six state and two territory governments of the
Australian mainland. The difference between Australian states and territories lies in the governing
powers of the states and territories. Australia is a huge country and a continent in itself. It is referred
to as a Commonwealth of Australia being a union of 6 states and the two territories (in total there are
10 Australian territories). This division between states and territories has been done for administrative convenience. Australian states came into existence even before the federal government came
into power, and these states have their powers protected in Australian constitution. Territories are
under the direct control of the federal government, and parliament has powers to legislate for
territories while it cannot legislate for states.
3 The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900.
4 The Commonwealth of Australia is the official name for Australia, which is a nation occupying the
whole of the Australian continent; Aboriginal tribes are thought to have migrated from southeastern Asia over 20,000 years ago; first Europeans were British convicts sent there as a penal
colony. The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British selfgoverning colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and
Western Australia agreed to unite and form the Commonwealth of Australia, establishing a system
of federalism in Australia.
5 Hannam (2006).
6 The consolidated acts in the nine jurisdictions in the Australian Legal Institute database “austlii”
were interrogated.
7 It should be noted that various laws under the three categories play a role in controlling soil
degradation which occurs from urbanisation and industrial uses.
182
I. Hannam
1 Soil conservation legislation
was one of the first areas of natural resource law and remained prominent until the
1980s and has been introduced to deal with the different forms of land degradation.
Australia is a federation of a national government, six states and two territory
governments (i.e. nine jurisdictions).
2 Legislatively, soil conservation is a state
responsibility and, although the Australian Constitution 1900
3 (hereafter the “Constitution”) does not provide specifically for the natural environment, this has not
prevented the Commonwealth from taking a comprehensive and active leadership in
soil conservation, from a strategic perspective and providing financial resources.
4 At
the state level, seven of the eight jurisdictions had some form of soil conservation
law until the 1980s. By 2018 only five states retained a specialist soil conservation
law. In the 20 years between 1980 and 2000, the activity of soil conservation was
increasingly viewed as a major ecological issue in Australia and integrated within
comprehensive environmental law systems. In this regard, the remaining specialist
soil conservation laws play a subordinate role to the integrated natural resources laws
in environmental assessment, planning and management of soil resources.
5 Using
the standard Australian definition of ‘soil conservation’ as a guide as to which
consolidated laws relate to that definition indicates that there are around 200 individual laws in Australia that play a prominent role in the implementation of soil
conservation.
6 These laws are categorised into three separate categories according to
the level they contribute to achieving the soil conservation objective.
7
1 Australia State of the Environment 1996 and 2006. These reports describe the various forms of
land degradation in Australia, their extent and, where data is available, trends.
2 In this chapter a reference to “states” means the six state and two territory governments of the
Australian mainland. The difference between Australian states and territories lies in the governing
powers of the states and territories. Australia is a huge country and a continent in itself. It is referred
to as a Commonwealth of Australia being a union of 6 states and the two territories (in total there are
10 Australian territories). This division between states and territories has been done for administrative convenience. Australian states came into existence even before the federal government came
into power, and these states have their powers protected in Australian constitution. Territories are
under the direct control of the federal government, and parliament has powers to legislate for
territories while it cannot legislate for states.
3 The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900.
4 The Commonwealth of Australia is the official name for Australia, which is a nation occupying the
whole of the Australian continent; Aboriginal tribes are thought to have migrated from southeastern Asia over 20,000 years ago; first Europeans were British convicts sent there as a penal
colony. The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British selfgoverning colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and
Western Australia agreed to unite and form the Commonwealth of Australia, establishing a system
of federalism in Australia.
5 Hannam (2006).
6 The consolidated acts in the nine jurisdictions in the Australian Legal Institute database “austlii”
were interrogated.
7 It should be noted that various laws under the three categories play a role in controlling soil
degradation which occurs from urbanisation and industrial uses.
182
I. Hannam