Nation building: how not to nation build

Other issues that governments miss are regional business impacts, loss of regional manufacturing, loss of regional employment and loss of tourism and loss of local sporting club membership. Socio economic impacts of the areas that have been impacted are rarely considered.

Ongoing increases in agricultural land management impacts is routinely missed, the recent EPBC bill is a case in point.

Loss of exports and increasing imports is another factor mostly ignored. Sovereign risk is also rarely considered.

Inadequate fire mitigation protection of regional communities, firefighters, infrastructure and ecosystems is an area of major refinement, yet routinely gets ignored.

Weed risks, pests and bushfire risks rarely get soundly considered with more and more conservation lock ups, 30 by 30, water buy backs and carbon lock ups. The Nationals noted recently that Labor is planning to lock up another 39 million hectares of land to meet its 2030 target 30 by 30 target, almost the size of two Victoria's.

Adequate checking of the science behind decisions is another area being missed regularly.

The cumulative impacts of decisions are rarely considered, in relation to long term decisions, more recent decisions and current decisions being considered.

The costs that come out of poor government approaches

These costs that come out of poor government approaches are many and including the costs of each decision are huge; the cumulative costs of ongoing decisions are huge; loss of active management is a huge cost; loss of regional manufacturing; loss of regional employment; loss of tourism; increased wildfires; weeds and pests; loss of productivity; increased use of steel and concrete; increased imports and loss of exports and increased sovereign risks.

Cumulative impacts

The cumulative impacts and ongoing neglect of government consideration of state forest closures, agricultural impacts, conservation purchases, carbon lock ups, water buy backs and unnecessary regulation needs to be be stopped and the impacts on businesses, employment, towns, communities, landholders, imports and exports addressed.

Potential ways forward for government

An urgent priority area is urgent government review of the impacts and cumulative impacts and ongoing neglect of government consideration of forestry closures, agricultural impacts, conservation purchases, carbon lock ups, water buy backs, renewable clearing and agricultural impacts and unnecessary regulation and the impacts on regional businesses, employment, towns, communities, landholders, imports and exports addressed. And assess ways to make improved decisions.

Another way forward is improving regional communities and increasing investment in regions and regional roads.

Questioning the federal and state government focus on passive management for many sectors and determinations at the expense of active and adaptive management is a critical area that needs to be reviewed by governments at all levels.