Implementing an environmental-economic accounting framework

Mladen Kovac, Chief Economist, Office of Environment and Heritage
Nicholas Conner, Principal Conservation Economist, Office of Environment and Heritage

Implementing an environmental-economic accounting framework to support environmental policy-making: a work-in-progress

Introduction to SEEA

Along with nearly all other countries, Australia produces a set of national economic accounts – the System of National Accounts (SNA).  The SNA provides information on economic activities in Australia, for income, expenditure, output, net worth and international transactions by households, businesses and governments.  Importantly, the SNA shows not only how economic activity changes over time, but also how changes in one sector flow through, and affect other sectors in the economy.  This information is routinely used by government policy makers to inform policy decisions, often supported by economic modelling showing trade-offs between different sectors of the economy under different policy options.

Creation of new National Parks falls 95% under Coalition

New figures released today by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) shows the expansion of the National Park estate has almost ground to a halt since the Coalition came to power in 2011.

According to the NSW Report on Native Vegetation 2013-141 the average annual rate of National Park additions under the Coalition to 2013-14 is just 9,753ha—a 95% reduction on the previous six-year average of 173,965ha.2