DEVELOPMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Political commentators have been divided over the influence of environ mental issues on voting behaviour during the past decade. However, in 1993 there was broad agreement that, in the context of a major economi c recession, the environment played a far less important role. This pa per, by analysing the election campaign, recent policies on developmen t and the environment, as well as survey data explores the following h ypotheses: the campaign, particularly by the Australian Labor Party, o ver green issues was far weaker in 1993 than in other recent elections ; the environment has been demoted as a political issue; in the long t erm, the environment remains a salient issue; and there is a strong te ndency towards seeing the environment and development as complementary rather than opposed.