Natural resource projects, government negotiations, indentures and environmental impact assessment: South Australian examples compared

Abstract

Development of natural resources in Australia includes a major element of government- industry negotiation especially by State governments (Fowler, 1982, 239). It is also common knowledge that while both parties are anxious to maximise any profit coming from utilizing the resource, the form that profit may take differs between them. Although financial gain is a common aspiration for governments the successful development of a natural resource holds the promise of direct and indirect employment and the consequential economic benefits. The wider social and political ramifications of a successful resource development are also part of the benefit package available to governments. not handled carefully, there may also be unforeseen costs - financial, environmental, social, economic and political (Kissling et If al, 1984). Awareness that there is a trade- off between possible costs and benefits has forced changes in the negotiation process. Politicians have recognized that a vocal pro- portion of the public expects to be assured that all the possible costs and benefits have been adequately considered. Resource negotia- tions are expected to take a broad spectrum of public costs into consideration, with both financial arrangements and the details of project development expected to produce an equitable result. Even if the current downturn in national and state economies may mean that people are less 'hard-nosed' about environmental impacts, governments are still expected to weigh up the public costs and benefits. And part of this task still involves the evaluation of the environment which is likely to be affected.