Does public consultation truly end? The Murray-Darling Basin experience : Does the commencement of a period of public consultation imply that government will have an increased and continuing role in managing local natural resources with the community to produce good policy outcomes?

Abstract

Involvement by government in natural resource management has traditionally been via scientific and engineering studies and enterprises. Since the 1980s there has been a movement by the community to become more involved in the management of natural resources. Government has accepted this change in societal attitude and has included the community in a more participatory manner to ensure better socioenvironmental outcomes. This change has been reflected in the way that the Murray-Darling Basin Commission includes the community in the development of its natural resource management strategies and policies. During the 1990s there has been an increasing desire by the Commission to ensure that the community has an ongoing involvement in the decision-making and policy development process. The changing governance arrangements have lead to better policy outcomes as the community accepts natural resource management strategies and policies as they have been involved during their development. The two Murray-Darling Basin case studies that are covered in this report show how ongoing community involvement is required to achieve continuing ecological outcomes. The new governance arrangements for natural resource management place an extra impost on individuals within communities which could lead to ‘burnout’ if not managed correctly. However the inclusiveness of the new arrangements is probably worth the risk.