Geoethics: a perspective from Australia

This short article is based on the introductory remarks I made in the Geoethics symposium at Geoitalia 2011. I was pleased to be invited to provide a brief address at this meeting because it gave me the opportunity to promote the 34th International Geological Congress (IGC) that will to be held in Brisbane, Australia, on August 5-10, 2012, and which will have a strong geoethics symposium. My succinct remarks reflect my experience over many years in provision of technical information and advice in support of Australian government decisions and policies on mining, energy and groundwater - all of which have core geoscientific elements. Further, they reflect the situation in a new world country with a strong economy dominated by mining, which differs in many ways from the countries where the field of geoethics has been nurtured and grown. They also outline a dilemma relating to mining in a developing country.