The rise and fall of sustainability in Western Australian politics: a review of sustainable development under the Western Australian Labor government between 2001 and 2008

Abstract

This article addresses problems associated with the political operationalization of the sustainability agenda and the design of new development goals based on the case of Western Australia (WA). In this state, rapid economic development, long the key objective of successive governments, has caused serious environmental problems and brought into question the sustainability of the state's development path. In the 2001 WA state election, the Labor Party came into office in part because of its overt commitment to sustainable development, departing from past progrowth philosophies. This article analyzes the extent to which the WA Labor government was able to operationalize politically its sustainability agenda during its time in office between 2001 and 2008. It finds that despite a strong commitment to its sustainability agenda in the early years of holding office, the Labor government failed to institutionalize policy changes, which, following a 2006 leadership change, allowed for a reversal of progress. We then discuss the WA experience within the global policy context and place it within the larger debates on the operationalization of sustainability.

Western Australia's Royalties for Regions program: a policy response to growth, regional neglect, and perceived disempowerment

“…According to Brueckner and Pforr (, p.7), ‘Labor arguably came into office in part because of its environmental policy platform that seemed to promise a departure from past pro‐growth philosophies premised on economic‐ecological trade‐offs'. Labor promised to implement a ‘State Sustainability Framework' to guide decision‐making (Brueckner & Pforr, ) and sought to distance itself from the previous approach to regional development, perceived to be promoting development without adequate environmental consideration. Also in 2001, the Commonwealth launched its Sustainable Regions Program to support struggling regions, facing socio‐economic change (Collits, ); this was viewed as reactive rather than proactive regional development policy.…”

“…The Labor Government retained control in the 2005 State election, but environmental priorities gave way to other pressing issues such as health, education, and economic growth. In 2006, Alan Carpenter replaced Gallop as Premier and, according to Brueckner and Pforr (, p.11), ‘a substantial shift occurred in both rhetoric and policy following the 2006 leadership handover'. A focus on sustainability was supplanted by a pro‐development approach, and the Carpenter years (2006–08) saw the abandonment of various sustainability measures (Brueckner & Pforr, ).…”

“…In 2006, Alan Carpenter replaced Gallop as Premier and, according to Brueckner and Pforr (, p.11), ‘a substantial shift occurred in both rhetoric and policy following the 2006 leadership handover'. A focus on sustainability was supplanted by a pro‐development approach, and the Carpenter years (2006–08) saw the abandonment of various sustainability measures (Brueckner & Pforr, ). No new regional development policy was developed under Carpenter, and environmental policy went from ‘visionary to reluctant and reactive' (Brueckner & Pforr, , p.9).…”

Securing the Future of Urban Environmental Sustainability Initiatives in Australia

“…In the backdrop of (a) a lack of political will (see Beatley, 2009;Brueckner & Pforr, 2011), (b) economic growth-centric urban planning (see Kennewell & Shaw, 2008;Byrne & MacCallum, 2013), and (c) fixation towards measurable environmental outcomes and market-based instruments to address policy and market failures (see Simpson & Clifton, 2010;Tennent & Lockie, 2013) that have overlooked the environmental sustainability aspirations, the need for securing the future of ECOs (the local 'doers' in Perth) is significant. Consequently, an understanding of ECOs' ability to keep going can provide valuable insights for strategies that seek to support these organisations.…”

State and Territory Government Strategic Plans: Exercises in Managing, Monitoring and Marketing

“…Queensland produced a variant of the over‐arching plan document with its revamped Smart State strategy in 2005, while WA fashioned what were effectively two limited versions of a state plan in 2003 with two publications, the State Sustainability Strategy and Better Planning, Better Services . As Brueckner and Pforr () have discussed, the enthusiasm for the nationally highly regarded sustainability strategy waned when Gallop retired from office and his Labor successor Carpenter adopted a more pro‐development policy stance.…”