The community and the law
Environmental issues are key political drivers for governments at all levels – local, state and federal. So members of parliament like to stay highly attuned to the moods of their electorate, because in the end it's the voters who have the last say on how well their local member has represented their views and concerns.
Most states and territories have an Environmental Protection Act and a Code of Practice that has direct relevance to forest operations. Although the wider community's awareness of these laws and guidelines may have once been rather limited, in recent years there has been a huge surge in interest from local residents and community groups.
The general public's interest is not just in the details of the various laws, regulations and guidelines that affect environmental management, it is also in the level of compliance shown by businesses to these provisions.
You should always remain mindful of the fact that your viability as a business is strongly influenced by the goodwill of the local and regional community. Even in very remote areas, there are likely to be members of the community continually observing your activities.
A 'good neighbour' approach is very important in matters that directly affect other members of the community, such as damage to roads, the generation of dust and noise, and traffic hazards created by large trucks and equipment. Any of these issues can escalate into complaints, confrontations and even legal constraints on the operation.
The best way to avoid these sorts of problems is to insist that all personnel show consideration to the community's needs and expectations, and ensure that the company's environmental policies and procedures are followed at all times.
Learning Activity
You may have your own examples of work-related issues that resulted in complaints from members of the public, or turned into bigger problems that affected your operation's relationship with the wider community. The issues might have concerned on-site work practices, or the movement of trucks on public roads, or some other matter that involved environmental care procedures.
Think of an example from your own workplace or from another company in a similar line of business. Alternatively, you might want to use an example for a local newspaper report.
- What were the circumstances?
- Was there a breach of law or procedures?
- How was the matter resolved?
- How could the problem have been avoided?
- What control measures could be put in place to stop it from happening again?
Share your answer with your trainer and/or other learners in your group. You may wish to do this through group emails or via a social networking site.
Provide feedback on the examples provided by the other members of your group.
Ask yourself the following questions as you think about your own responses:
- Have you had similar issues to them?
- Would you have addressed the matter in the same way?
- Do you agree with the control measures they have suggested for overcoming future occurrences?