ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the history of Natural Resource management (NRM) policy in Australia. While the focus is on policies and programmes from World War II onwards, initiatives predating this period provide relevant context for today's policies and will be briefly described. As a political issue, NRM slipped from prominence through the post-war economic boom years of the 1950s and 1960s. Heavily influenced by the growth of community Land Conservation District Committees (LCDCs) and Landcare groups in Western Australia and Victoria, the submission suggested that a programme be established based on a self-help approach to NRM that relied 'heavily upon local community groups, within a framework which recognises the responsibilities of Local, State and Federal Governments'. The existing suite of legislation, programmes and policies, including MBIs, which are relevant to NRM in Australia, has not yet been subjected to the same degree of systematic public evaluation that characterised the National Landcare Programme (NLP).
