Surprisingly, the report provides a stark and sobering view of what is really happening. Because an independent committee prepares the report, unlike NSW’s equivalent report, it can afford to be critical. It is little wonder that the Commonwealth Government made sure it wasn’t released before last year’s Federal election.

The Australian report concludes (p.2): “the state of the Australian natural environment has improved very little since 1996, and in some critical aspects, has worsened…Throughout Australia, both physical and cultural heritage, including Indigenous languages, continues to be threatened and lost. As species are lost and habitats fragmented, degraded or destroyed, we lose our heritage and part of our life-support system".

The report is not all gloom and doom, and much ‘favourable news’ is presented to offset the ‘unfavourable’ and ‘uncertain’ news. NSW’s recent coastal protection initiatives have been singled out.

However for five of the seven themes: biodiversity, land, inland waters, coast and oceans and natural and cultural heritage, the overall trend is negative. We are still moving backward and in some areas moving backwards even faster than in 1996, when the first report was conducted.

The ‘unfavourable’ biodiversity news (page 7) highlights this point. The summaries, however, usually don’t do justice to the evidence. As you delve into the report, you gain a greater appreciation of the problems.

The report also reminds us there is much we still don’t know about the condition of the environment. Either we aren’t measuring it yet, or only just realising it is a serious problem. For example, there has been no regular monitoring of inland waterways and ground water since the dramatic increase in the use of pesticides since the 1960s, and our knowledge of the marine environment is limited. Unfortunately, in most of these cases, the precautionary approach is not applied. Past experience shows that only when we have an indisputable crisis will governments take action.

The start of the Executive Overview (page 1) says “The Report concludes, as did SoE (1996), that progress towards sustainability requires the integration of environmental with economic and social policies".

Thus we have another wake-up call indisputably seeking a major change in the way Australians live and provide for their needs. State of the Environment Report says heed the signals now — here is what is at stake! Nobody should ignore this. Obtain the SoE report on the Environment Australia website: http://www.erin.gov.au