Hi Allegra

With global temperatures reaching record levels and the UN Secretary-General warning we are now in a period of “global boiling”, this week stood alongside my crossbench colleagues and urged the government to take action. On Monday, I asked the Prime Minister in Question Time to show more ambition on our transition, and I met with him later in the week to discuss my concerns in more detail.

There is no time to waste and I will continue to push for stronger action on emissions reduction.

Read on for an update on the other issues I am driving in our parliament and our community.

STRENGTHENING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

The State of the Environment Report laid bare the parlous state of nature in Australia. Based on your concerns, I’ve been pushing for more action.

Nature Repair: During June’s sitting period, I joined my crossbench colleagues in significantly strengthening a crucial piece of environmental legislation.

My amendments to the Nature Repair Market Bill will mean more investment goes into projects that protect and restore nature. They will ensure that conservationists and investors can have confidence that projects which they support lead to positive outcomes – and are not just offsetting environmental destruction somewhere else.

Following pressure from the crossbench, the government has also announced a welcome audit of over 1,000 environmental offset sites. This was a key concern of people in Wentworth and I will be pushing hard on this issue when reforms to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act are brought forward later this year.

Native Forest Logging: Native logging is bad for our environment, bad for our climate, and cost NSW taxpayers $29 million in subsidies in the last two years.

I recently asked the Environment Minister in Question Time to end this destructive practice and joined the crossbench in an open letter calling on her to take action. Whilst the Environmental Minister has now committed to bringing native logging under tougher environmental laws, I will continue to push for a nationwide ban.

Plastic Waste: It’s staggering that three million tonnes of packaging is sent to landfill each year – and each piece takes up to 1000 years to break down.

I recently wrote to the Environment Minister to urge tougher action and we have now seen some positive announcements. These include:

• Mandatory packaging standards and targets – including for recycled content
• Development of a national roadmap to help harmonise kerbside collection
• Progress on reducing plastic waste from the fashion industry

Sea Dumping: It was deeply disappointing to see the government and opposition this week vote in favour of legislation to support unreliable and unproven carbon capture and storage technology, designed to facilitate the expansion of new gas projects.

Myself and other members of the crossbench put forward a series of amendments that would have prevented the bill from supporting fossil fuel expansion, but the major parties teamed up to block them. As a result, I voted against the Bill. It was a sobering reminder of how much work we still have to do to protect our environment and our climate.

ACCELERATING HOUSEHOLD ELECTRIFICATION

All-electric homes are cheaper to run, better for our health and essential to reaching net zero. But despite welcome support in the budget, governments still aren’t doing enough to help households electrify and reduce their power bills.

Electrify Parliament: I was therefore delighted to host the Electrify Parliament breakfast with Dr Monique Ryan MP and Senator David Pocock. We were joined by Assistant Minister Jenny McAllister, parliamentarians from all sides, and industry experts from Rewiring Australia, Grattan Institute, and the Smart Energy Council to discuss how to accelerate action.

Following the breakfast, I called an urgent debate in parliament and joined fellow crossbenchers in pushing the government to significantly raise their ambition.

Electrify NSW: State governments also have a crucial role to play in electrification. But whilst Victoria has banned gas connections in new homes, and the ACT has a one-stop-shop for electrification, NSW is lagging behind.

Last week, I therefore joined fellow federal MPs Sally Sitou and Jerome Laxale to discuss the need for action with the NSW Ministers for Housing and Better Regulation, and the federal Assistant Minister for Climate Change. Everyone should be able to access the electrification opportunity – particularly renters and people living in apartments. I’ll continue to push the NSW government to do more.

Electrifying your home can help you save on your energy bills:

• To switch to GreenPower in as little as 10 minutes, check out the Woollahra Council Website.
• You can also find out how to electrify your home with Rewiring Australia’s guide.

PROGRESS ON HYDROGEN BUT CONTINUED FOSSIL FUEL EXPANSION

Since my last newsletter, there have been some exciting developments in Australian climate and environmental policy, but also some setbacks:

I have written to the Climate Change and Environment Ministers expressing Wentworth’s deep concerns about some of these setbacks and I’ll be joining Australian Parents for Climate Action and Doctors for the Environment Australia in a National Day of Action on Tuesday 8^th August to ask the Federal Government to stop fracking in the Beetaloo Basin.

TURBO-CHARGING EVs IN WENTWORTH

Since my last update, there’s been some exciting EV news for Wentworth, including:

• Installation of a new faster charger in Woollahra – located at the Queen Street carpark, where you can get a full charge in under an hour!
• The opportunity to have your say on new power pole EV chargers – give your feedback by August 10^th
• An additional $10 million in funding to support the roll-out of kerbside EV charging in NSW

However, I know that many people in Wentworth are now facing higher costs to charge EVs at public chargers. This is something I have already raised with our local Councils, but if you’re also affected, please get in touch.

SECURING FUNDING FOR LOCAL PROJECTS

In recent months, over $6 million in climate and environmental grant funding has been awarded to projects supporting Wentworth’s firms and constituents in a series of innovative and future-focused projects. Recipients include:

• MicroTau – a company that takes inspiration from shark skins to reduce drag on aircraft
• Dovetail – a firm who are fast-tracking the development of electric planes
• Bondi’s first community battery

Want to find out about more grant opportunities? Email me on [email protected] or sign up for a free account with the Wentworth Funding Finder. Please contact the office if you would like any assistance with how to use this .

JOIN US AT UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS

There are so many wonderful climate and environmental events happening around Wentworth. Here are some you can attend:

Composting and Worm Farming Workshop – Sunday 6 August 2023 – 2:00pm-3:00pm. Register here.

Compost Myth Busting, with Kate Flood aka Compostable Kate – Saturday 12 August, 3pm. Register here.

Recycle It Saturday: a free recycling drop-off event – Saturday 26^th August 2023 – 09:00am-3:00pm. Register here.

If you have feedback or questions about these, please get in touch by emailing me on [email protected].

Thanks for your support,

Allegra Spender MP