Attitudes of Australians Towards the Environment: 1975 to 1994

This article presents an overview of community attitudes in Australia towards the environment, covering the period 1975 to 1994, based on the evidence of a range of surveys. Results of opinion polls which rank environment with other issues are presented, and indicate that the environment has maintained its importance. One-off surveys of community environmental attitudes are examined in respect of the community's ranking of the environment compared with other objectives, particularly economic development. These indicate a strong pro-environmental preference of the Australian community. The dominant environmental concerns are pollution and waste, followed by loss of biodiversity; natural resource issues such as land degradation; urban issues; and finally, the global topics of ozone depletion and population. Conclusions presented cover the need for continuous monitoring of community attitudes, and the value of such surveys in showing governments and business that the Australian community does care about the environment.