World Heritage protection policy
in Australia appears to be at the crossroads. A case study of the
Hinchinbrook dispute supports this claim. A large tourism, marina
and residential development threatens to alter forever an essentially
pristine part of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area. It
was permitted under the World Heritage Properties Conservation Act
1983 (Cth). The Hinchinbrook experience illustrates the need for
major changes in Australian World Heritage law and practice. New
legislation, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999
(Cth) (EBCA) threatens to ignore the lessons of Hinchinbrook, and
instead entrench past mistakes in a deeply flawed legal framework.
The EPBCA represents a significant weakening of the legal framework
for World Heritage management in Australia. This article highlights
the threats posed by the Hinchinbrook dispute to World Heritage
law and the dangers to global World Heritage management of the precedent
set by Australian World Heritage management.
