Australian Government funding for natural resource management
The second stage of the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT2) and the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality end on 30 June 2008.
The Australian Government announced a new program, Caring for our Country, on 14 March. The program, to cost $2.25 billion over five years, focuses on six national priorities:
- a national reserve system
- biodiversity and natural icons
- coastal environments and critical aquatic habitats
- sustainable farm practices
- natural resource management in remote and northern Australia
- community skills, knowledge and engagement.
In addition, the Government’s 2007 election commitments will be addressed under the program. These were to:
- rescue the Great Barrier Reef
- repair our fragile coastal ecosystems
- save the endangered Tasmanian Devil
- improve water quality in the Gippsland Lakes
- fight the Cane Toad menace
- employ additional Indigenous Rangers
- expand the Indigenous Protected Area network
- assist Indigenous Australians enter the carbon trading market.
Under the program, local government will be able to compete for funds to address the national priorities.
Details of the targets for each of the priority areas are due to be released in September 2008, as part of the first Caring for our Country business plan. Funding applications for 2009/2010 will close in January 2009 and the results will be announced in April 2009.
Further information on Caring for our Country is available through the Australian Government NRM website at http://ww.nrm.gov.au. Specific information is at the following locations:
- Priorities, Funding, Delivery, Transition: http://www.nrm.gov.au/funding/future.html
- Questions and Answers: http://www.nrm.gov.au/funding/cfoc-faq.html
- General factsheet: http://www.nrm.gov.au/publications/factsheets/cfoc-general.html
- Detailed factsheet: http://www.nrm.gov.au/publications/factsheets/cfoc-detail.html
- Regional delivery factsheet: http://www.nrm.gov.au/publications/factsheets/cfoc-regional.html
Many details of the program are currently undefined. ALGA is working with the Australian Government to clarify the funding options for local government under Caring for our Country. Additional information will be reported in ALGA News and added to this site as it becomes available.
