IS IT ANY WONDER WE’RE YEARNING for the pure escapism of travel? The sobering realities of life in 2022 – from catastrophic floods to coral bleaching to the ongoing spectre of COVID-19 – are enough to send even diehard optimists scurrying for their suitcase. But when the act of escaping can also contribute to the very problems causing our hopelessness – particularly when it comes to the health of our planet – future-minded travellers are right to be asking: is travel in Australia sustainable? How does our country measure up?
To be frank, in general, Australia needs to pull up its socks. The country’s embarrassing (lack of) progress on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals saw it ranked dead last in an assessment of 60 countries for its policy response to the climate crisis. (And who can forget the dubious honour of
