Commission for the Environment

The Anglican Diocese' of Canberra and Goulburn occupies an especially sensitive position in Australia from an environmental perspective. It encompasses most of the headwaters of the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers.

It also embraces the widest range of natural ecosystems – from the alpine Snowy Mountain peaks through rainforested escarpments and native grasslands to the rugged coastline scattered with bays and inlets.

Landscapes adapted for human use from cities to hobby farms to broad acre cropping and grazing properties are also an integral part of our Diocese.

With such a rich environmental heritage, and landscapes of economic productivity, to nurture and protect it is appropriate that the Diocese has placed particular importance in environmental policy and this is embodied in the diocesan Commission for the Environment.

The function of the Commission is to assist the Diocese and its agencies to give leadership to the Church and its people in this Diocese in the way in which they can care for the environment, use the resources of God’s creation properly and to consider and act responsibly about the effects of human activity on God’s creation and to assist the Church in this Diocese to give leadership to the National Church and its community in these matters.

The members of the Commission have professional expertise in a diverse range of disciplines including building standards, ecology, education, energy and water utilities, geophysics, nuclear science, pastoral ministry, public administration and theology. This allows the Commission to engage in multidisciplinary examination of matters of concern to the Diocese and to generate policies and recommendations that take into account not only the environmental issues but also the practical, scientific, economic and social aspects of their implementation.