In what ways will your party promote good environmental stewardship so as to defend the common good?
Only the Australian government has the power, authority and resources to look after Australia’s natural heritage. It must take the lead and be held accountable.
The Greens are committed to:
- preserving, protecting and restoring nature;
- preventing human-caused extinction of our animals, plants and ecosystems;
- a healthy environment that minimises the need to extract resources and eliminates waste and pollution.
The Australian Greens have a plan to reverse environmental decline and kick-start the recovery Australia’s environment so urgently needs. By putting $2 billion each and every year over ten years into a Nature Fund we will tackle all three drivers of decline – invasive species, habitat destruction and climate change. You can find details of that policy here.
The Greens will also introduce a new generation of environmental laws overseen by an independent regulatory body with real power to enforce environmental laws.
The Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act is a relic of the Howard era. We need a new generation of environmental laws that actually protect our shared natural resources, our wild places and our threatened species.
The Greens will provide real protection for our animals, land, air and water with a national Environmental Protection Authority with real teeth to enforce the law and provide independent expert advice, at arm’s length from the influence of politicians and the big business lobby.
Backing this Authority, the Greens’ new environmental laws would expand federal responsibility for:
- National parks and reserves, including critical habitats, climate refugees and national biodiversity hotspots;
- Vulnerable ecological communities;
- Impacts from land clearing;
- Greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution;
- Water resources (including rivers, wetlands and aquifers);
- Ecosystems and wetlands of national significance;
- Invasive species.
This work will be supported by a new National Environment Commission responsible for a coordinated system of environmental data collection, monitoring, auditing and reporting.
Our new laws will also allow increased community access to justice by implementing “open standing” for people and communities to challenge environmentally damaging decisions in court, without risking huge costs in public interest cases.
Labor’s commitment to the environment is the same as Labor’s fight against any form of injustice. In the same way Labor would take a stand to reduce injustice between rich and poor, protecting the environment is when Labor takes a stand between injustice between the current generation and future generations. It’s about making sure that we don’t act today in a way that destroys our land, its rivers and its oceans for tomorrow.
The Liberal Government’s failure to act on climate change carries a direct cost for future generations. An ocean filling up with plastic carries a direct cost. Forests have been cleared that used to be the home to endangered species, and now leave future generations with an extinction rate that if left unchecked will ultimately consign many native birds, mammals and plants to exhibits in a museum rather than creatures in a national park.
Labor’s Environment Policy commits Labor to strong action to protect our environment on land, in the ocean and in the atmosphere:
- On land – with a focus on Indigenous management, Indigenous jobs and tackling the problem of waste.
- In the ocean – with a focus on marine parks, the Reef and ocean plastics.
- And in the atmosphere – with a focus on combating climate change.
We will also modernise environmental law to make sure the environment is protected and industry and communities have certainty.
We will remove government from picking winners in the environmental space. We will remove subsidies for any form of energy generation. We will let individuals, community groups, corporations and organisations decide what they deem to be important behavioural changes towards the environment free from the threat of carbon taxation or criminal prosecution for failing to abide by government dictats on climate policy.
Climate change is a global problem that requires a global solution. The Morrison Government is committed to Australia playing its part in that global solution to reduce emíssions.
Under the Morrison Government, Australia’s emissions are currently at their lowest level on a per capita and GDP basis in 28 years. Australia contributes to just over l percent of global emissions. The Morrison Government is committed to Australia continuing to play its part in reducing emissions.
The Morrison Government’s 2030 target to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 per cent below 2005 levels is responsible and achievable. This target will see a reduction in emissions per person halve by 2030. This is one of the strongest efforts among G20 countries.
On the other hand, Labor have committed to a reckless 45 per cent Emissions Reduction Target, which has been described by the Business Council of Australia as ‘economy wrecking’. Independent modelling shows Labor’s climate change policy would see a 59,000 hit on wages by 2030, 336,000 people out of jobs and wholesale electricity prices would rise by 58 per cent.
The Morrison Government’s Climate Solutions Package is a comprehensive, fully costed, $3.S bill¡on plan, over the next decade to deliver on Australia’s 2030 emissions reduction targets.
Our plan is:
- A $2 billion climate solutions fund to reduce greenhouse gases across the economy
through the existing Emissions Reduction Fund, giving farmers, small businesses and
Indigenous communities the chance to improve the environment and benefit from new
revenue opportunities. - Secure our energy future for generations to come, through investments in a high-tech
expansion of the Snowy Mountains Scheme and a second interconnector, Marinus Link,
between Victoria and Tasmania. This will deliver more affordable, reliable power to the
National Electricity Market, reducing prices for Australian families and businesses while
keeping the lights on. - Help households and businesses to lower energy bills. By the middle of 2019, over one
million Australian families and small business will benefit from electricity prices falling by
up to 15 per cent and the ban on sneaky late payment fees.
The Morrison Government is addressing climate change to build on our strong record of achievement to protect, preserve and value our environment.
One Nation believes that the best way to ensure good environmental stewardship is to allow those who benefit from it, that is the primary producers and land owners a better say in how it is managed.
