How do we respond to the environmental challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and water quality while looking after the economic, social and cultural life of our regions?

The biophysical services that green spaces provide, such as stormwater filtering and storage, heat mitigation and air filtration, all rely on an adequate volume and depth of healthy soil. Yet many of our new residential developments may not have enough healthy soil to support these services.

The Commissioner has released his third annual estimate of environmental expenditure, mapping the spending of 20 central government agencies against six enduring environmental outcomes.

– and how to do it better next time

The fabric of our cities is changing rapidly in response to ongoing population growth. What will the impact be on places like our lawns and vegetable gardens, roadside berms, neighbourhood parks, riparian strips, patches of bush, school fields, golf courses and civic gardens?

The Government spends over $2 billion each year on the environment. Do we know if we're making a difference?

There is a lot we don’t know about chemicals reaching our environment, including how much is used, where they are used, and the effects they are having.