The Use of Taxation Incentives to Create New Eco-Service Markets
Eco-taxation incentives are often treated in isolation to the business model that is used to fund conservation and sustainable business practices. The study reported in this paper integrates taxation arrangements with a business model to secure multiple funding streams, to deliver multiple environmental outcomes, with a minimum of transaction costs, The authors (and their various industry collaborators) believe that this model will be more effective than the existing natural resource management funding arrangements in delivery of a triple bottom line outcome. Most governments, given all their other funding responsibilities, will be unable to increase funding into an environmental sustainable agenda. It is for this main reason that a business model should be adopted that harnesses private capital, private sector management and private incentives to encourage economically, socially and environmentally sustainable practices. The paper suggests a business model to ensure the sustainability of landscapes would combine private funding, government supervision, fiscal instruments and payments to eco-service providers for services such as carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, salinity control, mitigation banking and research into sustainable practices.
Underpinning success in the real world of corporations law
This paper reports on an action research project which sought to evaluate and guide ongoing teaching and learning development in Principles of Corporations Law, a semester-long unit of study. Typically, enrolments in this subject area include students from a range of cultural contexts for whom the legislative and administrative concepts of the unit are unfamiliar and who also experience significant difficulties with cultural conventions of communication and business practice. At our university, unit enrolments include a high proportion of distance education as well as non-English speaking background (NESB) students, predominantly from China, who have not studied units formerly considered as prerequisite, and many of whom experience difficulties with basic academic skills. As the development team planned and created teaching features to ensure better learning outcomes for these students, it was clear that some truly contextual thinking as well as some practicable solutions would be required. While we had determined in the redesign planning that scenario- or problem-based learning (PBL) with its emphasis on finding, understanding and using information in context, was best suited to help students acquire the skills that underpin success in the unit, our experience in the project indicated students had a broader range of more basic needs. It emerged that students were struggling with fundamental issues that would need to be addressed before real change could occur.
Discussion paper: An industry plan for the Victorian environment?
This commissioned discussion paper, forming part of the White Paper process for the Victorian government's review of land stewardship, considers the fundamental challenges in managing land sustainably. It highlights legal and economic challenges, and sets out some possible directions, including an 'industry plan' for the environment.
Future Interests and Perpetuities
The law concerning future interests and perpetuities is complex, at times confusing, and always a challenge to students when they first come to study it. The law recognising several types of future interests: reversions, remainders and executory interests. Generally, the law discussed in this chapter applies equally to Torrens Title land and land under the general law. The exception is the rule in 'Shelly's Case'... ... A discussion of future interests is a prerequisite to understanding the rule against perpetuities.
A sustainable resourcing strategy for landcare
Landcare is a community-based natural resource management (NRM) program of global significance. The strength of Landcare lies in its local focus and character and the fact that community groups and networks decide their own visions and set goals for environmental action in their districts and regions. Landcare is an effective mechanism for facilitating community participation in NRM, community partnerships and cost sharing between government and private landholders. The main restraint on achieving conservation goals, however, is the lack of resources available for landcare actions. Without further resources, Landcare cannot commit to the extent needed to achieve sustainable management of the Australian environment. This feasibility problem faced by most Landcare groups reflects a far larger challenge of environmental funding. Future pressure on budgets means that it is unlikely that Australian governments will commit to substantively increased conservation funding. There is a real possibility that environmental funding by governments will continue to decrease. To meet this challenge, there is a need for innovation in conservation resourcing as the demand for investment in conservation activities dwarves the capacity of both government and private landholders. Landcare groups will need to find even more creative ways to address this resourcing gap.
Delay Totally Invalidates an Administrative Decision: Nais and Others v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs and Another (2005) 223 Alr 171
The question before the High Court in Nais and Others v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs and Another¹ ('Nais') was whether excessive delay nullified an administrative decision. The majority of Gleeson CJ, Kirby, Callinan and Heydon JJ, over the dissenting judgments of Gummow and Haynes JJ, held that excessive delay did vitiate the administrative decision in this particular case.² It was also noted that the rules of procedural fairness are not necessarily breached by inordinate delay but rather delay may deny an applicant the opportunity to have their case properly considered.³
Australian Uniform Evidence Law
The focus of this book is the uniform Evidence Act (referred to throughout as ‘the Act’ or ‘the Acts’). The Act has not been introduced in Queensland, South Australia or Western Australia, where each states Evidence Act and the common law apply. However, the Act is still an important reference guide for those states due to the connection between common law and the Act. Despite the differences between jurisdictions that have adopted the Act, there is a significant degree of uniformity. Accordingly, in this book the provisions that are extracted to indicate the rules in relation to the Act come from the Commonwealth Act. Any important jurisdictional differences are separately identified.
Funding biodiversity conservation
Article 11 of the Convention on Biological Diversity is based on the acknowledgement that to implement biodiversity strategies, it is necessary to provide adequate funding to motivate and implement conservation and restoration action. This chapter discusses Australian and Brazilian investments in biodiversity actions, noting that funding allocations fall far short of what is required to maintain biodiversity. The chapter notes that the capacity of either government to fill the funding gaps is insufficient and innovative approaches are needed to motivate private investment. Thus far, neither country has prioritised funding innovations.
The environment needs billions of dollars more: here's how to raise the money
Extinction threatens iconic Australian birds and animals. The regent honeyeater, the orange-bellied parrot, and Leadbeater's possum have all entered the list of critically endangered species.
It is too late for the more than 50 species that are already extinct, including bettongs, various wallabies, and many others. Despite international commitments, policies and projects, Australia's biodiversity outcomes remain unsatisfactory.
The Use of Taxation Incentives to Create New Eco-Service Markets
Environmental taxation reform is an important impetus towards sustainability. However, governments have demonstrated a limited appetite to adopt 'green taxation' such as shifting from taxes on employment to taxes on energy use. We suggest a politically modest tax-reform model has a better chance of adoption than radical changes. This chapter demonstrates the potential to combine the magnitude of the investment required, relative to the capacity of private citizens and government to fund the needed work.