1. Click to edit Master subtitle style 22/09/10 Rural sustainability, laws and institutions My message in a bottle Professor Paul Martin Australian Centre for Agriculture and Law University of New England

2. 22/09/10 Our research Concepts for private sector funded conservation using tax-effective instruments 2008 Developing a Good Regulatory Practice Model for Environmental Regulations Impacting on Farmers 2007 Sustainability Strategies (Federation Press) 2006 Property rights and property responsibility 2002 Fifty Million Australians: Can this be sustainable? 2002 A Cartography for Natural Resource Law: Finding new paths to effective resource regulation 2000 and 2002 (Using Environmental Law for Effective Regulation). Content 1.Specifying the law/institutions transaction cost problem and proposed reformed architectures 2.Proposed regulatory processes to improve rural law effectiveness and economy 3.Transactional methods for creation of systems- focused integrated NRM strategies 4.Highlight the fiscal gap for sustainability, its effects and some tax and low-cost transactional approaches to investment Purpose: a stronger institutional architecture

3. 22/09/10 Some consequent developments AgLaw Centre at UNE, ~ 45 Masters and Phd students, 5 staff, research focus on sustainability law and institutions. ~ 20 reform studies e.g. weeds and biofuel risk, ‘next generation’ governance, co- regulation, water institutions, policy risk, duty of care. Research collaboration in USA, Canada, Asia, and Europe. Increasing policy enquiries. Tangible impacts. Our research

4. Australia: suffering instrumental myopia? The Goal: to shift social systems, to sustain ecological systems Many Problems: failures, complexities, frustrations and cost. Causes: fragmented inefficient institutions. Effects: results are often insufficient, frequently costly and often unfair Instrument typeBehavioural mechanism? Who bears the cost? Markets Market entrepreneurship arbitrage or improve resource access or value. Consumer of resource bears the cost of consumption Private Regulation Avoidance of third party harm or ‘neighbourly’ negotiation of interests Offending user bears costs of avoidance of harm. Affected neighbour may bear costs. Both bear negotiated costs. Public Regulation Compliance, focused on least cost to avoid the risk. Regulator bears the costs of enforcement. User bears the cost of compliance. IncentivesAdministrative entrepreneurship to - Win grants - Satisfy requirements The granting agency plus grant applicants. EducationCivic responsibilityVolunteers The problems

5. 22/09/10 Considering the emperor's wardrobe The institutional fabric is torn and insufficient Instruments fail, and we are surprised Farmers feel victimised, but landscape values are declining. We still lack A viable fiscal model for sustaining rural landscapes Systemic behaviour changing strategies addressing integrated ecosystems NRM strategies that embrace social justice Robust process for design and review The problems

6. 22/09/10 Quo vadis? The ‘sustainable population’ debate should trigger serious reconsideration of the institutional fundamentals The ‘feed in’ Farmer rights, social license and identification of regulatory and market cost and limitations Significant sustainable resource use conflicts The Henry review, and fiscal relationships The future

7. 22/09/10 What will sustainability require?  Significant innovation in productive use of nature. Why?  Significant innovation in (effective) protection. Why?  Minimise the cost of/to government. Why?  Accessible rules and methods. Why?  Innovation and investment in social equity. Why? Some “Hows” 1. Streamline regulation using the Corporations Code/ Trade Practices model architecture 2. Create a unified framework for creating, trading and supervising environmental property rights 3. Create a private sector sustainability funding model, with Lower transaction costs stucture; and A conservation supportive taxation ‘playing field’ 4. Incorporate social justice, risk and implementation assessment into the design of the instruments we use.

8. 22/09/10.. and the wisdom of many. Poh Lin Tan Donna Craig Tony Gleeson Andrew Campbell Corey Watts Neil Gunningham Michael Lester Jason Alexandra Mike Young Richard Price Ken Moore Alice Roughley Jim Donaldson Stuart Pearson Nick Schofield Robyn Bartel Ian Hannam Chris Stone Craig Carter David Eyre Miriam Verbeek Jack Sinden Murray Raff Gary Stoneham Liverpool Plains Land Management Committee Rice Environmental Champions Paul Toni Marty Sammon Tony Dormer CRC Irrigation Futures WWF Australia NSW Farmers Australian Farm Institute Mick Keogh Alex Arbuthnot Thanks