The Prime Minister's Pre-Election Promise of World Heritage Listing for the Lake Eyre Basin: Flight or Flight of Fancy?

Abstract

In March 1993 the Australian Prime Minister promised World Heritage listing of diverse wetlands in the South Australian Lake Eyre region. Recent developmental pressures within the region and in the catchment interstate led the environment movement to intensify the pro-listing campaign. Current theory on ecological functioning of arid Australia and unregulated rivers, and a rapid expansion of knowledge about the region's heritage, support the technical legitimacy of heritage significance and highlight the value of integrated regional planning and management structures as have been developed in the Murray- Darling Basin. The Lake Eyre Basin covers one sixth of Australia, and World Heritage proposals for even a small area have alarmed commercial interests and state governments, due to the implications of federal intervention and changes in existing management that could follow. This alliance has mounted an aggressive and effective media campaign and lobbied federally to stall any progress with the Commonwealth's continuing commitment to World Heritage assessment. As with other recent conflicts concerning specific areas of land, resources and established commercial interests, this dispute has become highly divisive leading to a stalemate. The two campaigns and the roles of government and media are analysed to show that the pastoral industry, some mining interests and the states will tend to remain opposed to World Heritage proposals over moderate to large areas in the rangelands. Broad (rhetorical) initiatives such as national strategies, policies and conceptual management models are less threatening and can be broadly embraced (and ignored). Lessons from the mining industry and socio-economic case studies are instructive.