By Jane Garcia in Sydney
The Chief Judge of NSW’s Land and Environment Court, Justice Brian Preston, shared his views on the principles of ecologically sustainable development at a National Trust of Australia corporate breakfast meeting held in Sydney this morning (November 23).
He spoke of the importance of meeting the present needs of society without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
One of the six principles of ESD outlined by the Chief Justice was the concept of not only inter-generational, but intra-generational equity.
He said intra-generational equity involved ensuring the use of natural resources by one country, or one sector or class of within a society, must be fair. People in the same generation had equal rights to benefit from the use of a country’s or the Earth’s resources, and enjoy a clean and healthy environment.
“It’s looking at principles of having a right to life,” Chief Justice Preston said.
“There’s a right to life, but also a right to a quality of life … and a decent standard of living.”
He said the concept of this form of ‘environmental justice’ was gaining recognition in countries including India and Pakistan, but had not been discussed as much in Australia.
Chief Justice Preston believed a paradigm shift needed to occur so people recognised that instead of choosing as a society between economic growthm jobs and GDP and ecologically sustainable development, the two actually could work hand in glove.
"These principles, if implemented, may ultimately realise a paradign shift from a world in which the development of the environment occurs without regard to environmental consequences, to one where a culture of sustainability extends to government, private development interests, communities and individuals," he said.
National Trust president Barry O’Keefe, presiding over his last corporate breakfast in the role ahead of Saturday’s election of a new president, questioned the rise of modern consumer culture and an ethic of ‘buy! buy! buy!’.
“The principle of consumption has been one of the ravages inflicted upon us,” Mr O’Keefe said.
“When I was a boy, we saved the paper bags we received biscuits in at the shops and brought them home. We used them to take our lunch to school and took them home to use again.”
He said he agreed with an idea he had read in a book recently that if everyone in Australia, the US, the UK and Europe were to maintain a consumption lifestyle similar to that in the 1950s, then the entire worldwide population could afford to live at those standards.
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@governmentnews.com.au.
Sign up to the Government News newsletter
