February 2008

  FROM THE PRESIDENT

For the last year I have mentioned the 2008 National Conference in every President's message.  All of a sudden, it's now 2008 and the National Conference is a little over a month away!  Registrations have been fantastic - we have over 100 delegates registered to date and the Conference is nearly a sellout.  We do have a quality lineup of speakers from Australia and New Zealand for Conference delegates and if the submitted abstracts are anything to go by, this Conference will provide lots of food for thought on a wide range of climate change related issues.  I am really looking forward to welcoming delegates to Perth and the Conference.  It's going to be a fantastic two days. 

Another development on the National front is the publication of the first report under our Environmental Law Roundtable of Australia and New Zealand (ELRANZ) banner - "Report on Penalty Infringement Notices (PINS) for Environmental Offences: A Step Towards Consensus on the Law across Australia & New Zealand".  As you will remember, ELRANZ is a joint project with the Resource Management Law Association of New Zealand.  The report follows the PINS discussion paper published in August 2006.  A number of printed copies have been produced and will be distributed to law makers in each Australian jurisdiction and in New Zealand.  You can obtain your own hard copy directly from the Canberra Secretariat, or you will be able to download a pdf version of the report from the NELA website.  Many thanks to the ELRANZ Convenor, John Haydon, and our colleagues at the RMLA for organising the publication of the report.

At the NELA National Executive meeting, the 2008 Business Plan was agreed.  In 2008, we will continue to strive to provide better service delivery for NELA members and will consolidate the progress made in developing links with like-minded organisations in Australia and overseas.

Robyn Glindemann

President