Institutional design and policy making ‘down under’: developments in Australian and New Zealand coastal management

The early-mid 1990s may yet rank as the most significant period for coastal management in Australia and New Zealand. This period of intense assessment and evaluation of approaches to the management of the coastal zones ‘down under’ has provided important lessons in terms of institutional design; lessons which have broader relevance. The paper examines and evaluates the different approaches taken by Australia and New Zealand in developing institutional arrangements for coastal management. The paper concludes by emphasising constitutional, legal and political frameworks as key determinants on outcomes; the significance of achieving integration at inter and intra government levels; and supports arrangements which provide a synthesis between ‘top-down’, and ‘bottom-up’ approaches.