ABSTRACT
These are the introductory words of a report to the Commonwealth Government into the importance of the coastal zone written over 20 years ago (Resources Assessment Commision 1993, 7). Whilst the impact of climate change barely rated a mention in that report (for example, research into impact of climate change was rated seventh of the seven proposed research priorities), in 2013 it is probably the most important issue for coastal planning and management. The purpose of this chapter is to describe how planning in Australia is currently addressing this most difficult issue. First, the importance of the coast to Australians and the Australian economy is described. Next, the impacts that global warming is causing at our coasts is set out, and the nature and extent of the planning problem described. The next four sections describe the planning and policy responses to these impacts to date with a particular focus on Western Australia (WA) – the State with the longest coastline. Policy and planning options are set out in section 9.4, whereas section 9.5 describes how the WA State Government has responded. Section 9.6 describes how local governments, particularly in WA have responded, and Section 9.7 describes how the Courts in Australia are becoming involved in coastal planning because of the impacts of climate change. The final section (9.8) discusses the idea of building resilience in coastal communities facing the negative impacts
of climate change, especially those facing increasing numbers of disasters due to increased severe storm activity.
