Australian Attitudes Towards the Environment: 1991 to 2001

Abstract

This article, which extends an earlier investigation covering the period 1975–1994, reviews surveys of community attitudes towards the environment during the 1990s up to 2001. It focuses mainly on Australian surveys but includes two that cover attitudes of New Zealanders. The relationship between attitudes and behaviour is examined, and comparisons of stated attitudes regarding the environment and individual behaviour are made. Regular surveys by Newspoll and biennial surveys by the Australian Bureau of Statistics of community attitudes are included, as are national surveys of farmers' attitudes to rural environmental issues and environmental health risk perception. Surveys in NSW, Tasmania and New Zealand are also included. Although there has been a decline in the level of community environmental support, the surveys indicate that there has remained a mainstream of environmental consciousness within the community during the 1990s, which is reflected in a consolidation in the environment's perceived importance and a stabilisation of its influence on individual behaviour.