Prepared by the Ecologically Sustainable Development Steering
Committee Endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments ISBN
0 644 27253 8 Appendix A - Summary of the InterGovernmental
Agreement on the Environment The environment is one of the most
important issues facing Australians today. It has also been an
issue sometimes marred by damaging intergovernmental disputes,
as governments respond to the challenge posed by public demands
for a better and healthier environment. The Prime Minister's One
Nation Statement of 26 February 1992 announced that agreement
had been reached on an Intergovernmental Agreement on the
Environment. The agreement represents the beginning of a new
approach to intergovernmental dealings on the environment. It
sets out the roles of the parties and establishes the 'ground
rules' under which the Commonwealth Government, State, Territory
and local governments will interact on the environment (Section
2); includes a broad set of principles to guide the development
of environment polic