Canada and Australia - Comparing Environmental Policies in 16 Countries - page 146

of the Environment, Aborigines, and the Arts, it has had varying names and
functions since then. Two other important departments are Agriculture,
Fisheries and Forestry and Industry, Tourism and Resources.
The federal structure of the commonwealth means that each of the
six states has its own agencies, such as the Department of Environment
and Conservation of New South Wales or the Environmental Protection
Authority of South Australia. Prior to the 1970s the states passed laws on
sewage, clean water, irrigation, forests, parks, mining, fisheries, and so
forth. The federal level did not enter the field until 1974.
More like Canada and less like the United States, the states retained
much authority over land, mining, forests, and fisheries. This is because
the federal Commonwealth was imposed on the existing six colony-states.
The Constitution copies the American one by enumerating the specific
powers of the national government and leaving all the rest to the states.
This resulted in a shortage of authority for the commonwealth as envi-
ronmental issues arose during the 20th century. Two ways around this
were to use the power to conduct external affairs and the power to regu-
late trade and commerce. Its external affairs authority was the basis for
the Sea Dumping Act of 1981 and the Seas and Submerged Lands case in
1975. It was also the authority for the Great Barrier Reef Park Act of 1975
and World Heritage Properties Conservation Act of 1983. Commonwealth
authority to regulate trade and commerce was the basis for the Impact of
Proposals Act of 1974 and the Endangered Species Protection Act of 1982.
In 1999 Parliament replaced these with the comprehensive Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. This clarifies the scope and
triggering of an Environmental Impact Assessment.
Because the constitution is vague about federal relationships and the
environment was not foreseen as an issue in 1901, the prime minister, the
premiers of the six states and two territories, and the head of the local gov-
ernment association met in Brisbane in 1992 to sign the Intergovernmental
Agreement on the Environment, laying out the relationship. In fact, this
agreement is still vague, affirming the existing balance, and setting forth
goals and procedures. The entire Constitution of 1901 is often criticized
for vagueness. It has been described as a constitution that does not really
tell how the government is constituted. There is no explanation of how a
political party holding a majority is entitled to form a government, and it
says that the executive function is to be exercised by the governor general,
in reality a figurehead.