Abstract
Nowhere is the conflict of values inherent in conservation and resource development more glaringly obvious than in the political and legal battles which have often accompanied proposed World Heritage Listing. From the wilderness of South West Tasmania through tropical rainforests of North Queensland to the open spaces of Kakadu, the struggle between competing interests has mirrored the shifting values of Australian society as a whole. In this article, former Australian Heritage Commissioner, Bruce Davis, analyses the political reaction to these difficult clashes of ideology.