Climate adaptation policy and planning in South East Queensland

Abstract

Adapting to the impacts of climate change has significant environmental, economic and social implications for all of Australia, but South East Queensland (SEQ) is a region of particular vulnerability (IPCC 2007b, pp. 508–531; DCC 2009, pp. 86–91; Steffen and Hughes 2013). The seriousness of the problem demands a well-coordinated, wholeof- government, cross-sectoral response. But how has the Australian system of government responded? The most significant aspect of this response is the particular configuration of the Australian federal system of government in which three levels co-exist, but in a profoundly uneasy relationship. The underlying political dynamic of this system is a persistent set of power struggles between and within the different levels of government (Jaensch 1997; Howes 2005), which has significant implications for environmental policy (Toyne 1994) and climate change adaptation (Howes and Dedekorkut-Howes 2012). This is the key issue considered in this chapter. In this chapter, we review the actions of each level of government that relate to climate change adaptation in SEQ. The first section considers the three main strategies of the national government: direct action or intervention, cooperation and delegation. The second section then outlines the range of state and regional initiatives that were implemented until the Queensland election of 2012. In the third section the changes to these arrangements by the new state government are summarised. The final section covers the adaptation policies and plans of the eleven local governments of the region.