Election Update: Where do the political parties stand on nature protection?

Protecting our environment is an issue of major concern to many Australians. This is where the parties currently stand on policies announced. We will continue to update this information as announcements are made and information is provided throughout the election.

Here’s a handy summary of where the parties stand! Please share far and wide with friends and family.

The Coalition

The Coalition, led by Peter Dutton, has promised to fast track major gas developments under Australia’s national nature laws, including Woodside’s Burrup Hub development. The Coalition will oppose any further bans on native forest logging and establish Permanent Timber Production Zones where logging can continue. The Coalition opposes strengthening Australia’s national nature laws and opposes the creation of an independent Environment Protection Agency (EPA).

You can read their policy on Forestry and Fisheries here (there is as yet no environment plan or platform available).

The Greens

The Greens, led by Adam Bandt, have promised to reform national nature laws to end native forest logging, put a moratorium on bulldozing of koala habitat and insert a “climate trigger” to ensure mines and developments are properly assessed for their climate impacts. They would also make greenwashing illegal and make companies disclose their impact on nature.

The Greens have also recently announced that they would increase funding for nature to 1% of the Federal Budget(about $7.8 billion), doubling expenditure on the environment. 

You can view their full environment plan here.

Labor

Labor, led by Anthony Albanese, has promised to reform federal environmental laws to deliver strong protections for Australia’s threatened animals, plants and ecosystem and create a national independent Environment Protection Agency (EPA). They have committed $250 million to protect an extra 30 million hectares of land, protect native species and get rid of invasives. They have also promised to legislate to ensure Environment Information Australia houses the best, verified environmental information. 

On ocean protection, Labor has committed to ratifying the Global Ocean Treaty as soon as possible following the election and protecting at least 30% of Australia’s oceans in highly protected areas.

Labor does not yet have an environment plan or platform on their campaign website.

Independents

In many electorates independent candidates are either running for re-election or for the first time. Some of these are existing MPs who have good nature policies and have a record of supporting pro nature legislation in parliament over this term. This includes David Pocock, Allegra Spender, Zoe Daniels, Sophie Scamps, Monique Ryan, Zali Steggal, Sophie Scamps and Kate Chaney.

We encourage you to look at the website or contact your local independent candidates if you are unsure of their specific stance on nature protection issues and would like more details.

Our friends at the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and WWF-Australia have also done detailed policy assessments if you’d like to see more. Check out ACF’s here, which include individual assessments of many sitting community independent candidates, and WWF-Australia’s here.