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Natural Environment

Protecting and investing in nature

Our natural environment is one of Australia’s defining features. But nature is in crisis.

Every hour, we are bulldozing an area of unique and threatened species habitat the size of 28 Sydney Opera Houses.[1]

Over the last 200 years, Australia has suffered the largest documented decline in biodiversity of any continent.[2]

Add to this the existential threat posed by climate pollution – and our environment has never been in greater danger.

Download my document "Getting serious about nature protection" here

Natural Environment

Protecting and investing in nature

Natural Environment|Protecting and investing *in nature*

Why we need to act

Delivered

We’ve made progress during this parliament and I’m proud to have helped deliver:

  • [/] More investment in nature protection – through my amendments to the Nature Repair Market Bill, which will ensure more money goes to projects that improve nature, rather than just offsetting environmental destruction elsewhere.
  • [/] Stopped fossil fuel exploration at PEP-11 – so that our beautiful Sydney coastline will never be subjected to drilling for oil and gas.
  • [/] A ‘water trigger’ in our national environmental law – negotiated by the crossbench to ensure gas fracking projects are properly assessed to their environmental impact.

Future Plans

But it’s nowhere near enough. We need to take urgent action to protect our environment for future generations.

And with more people employed by the Great Barrier Reef[3] than in oil and gas – and up to 49% of our GDP dependent on nature[4]  – doing so is also an economic imperative.

That’s why I’m fighting to:

  1. End native forest logging – which is bad for the environment, climate, and taxpayers.
  2. Fix our broken environmental laws – in line with Professor Graeme Samuel’s 2020 Review.
  3. Take account of climate pollution in environmental assessments.
  4. Create an independent Environment Protection Authority – to be a tough-cop-on-the-beat to enforce our environmental laws.
  5. Increase investment in nature – from our currently level of just 30% of the OECD average.

Watch and read

  • The Guardian - Independent MPs urge Greens to improve Nature Repair Bill (read here)
  • The Guardian - Labor and Crossbench strike deal to establish Nature Repair Scheme (read here)
  • My speech in parliament on the Nature Repair Bill (watch here) and my amendements to the legislation (watch here
  • My Nature Repair Community Zoom with Lyndon Schneiders, ACBF, and Jennifer Barwick, Pew Charitable Trusts (watch here)

 

[1] ACF (2024). ‘Save our big back yard’

[2] Cyan Ventures for 30by30.org.au (2024).’ The price of nature – Analysis of govt. spending on biodiversity’

[3] Based on 64,000 jobs related to Great Barrier Reef vs. 23,000 in oil and gas extraction. See: Queensland Government (2024). ‘Protecting the Great Barrier Reef’; APPEA (2023). ‘Key statistics 2023’

[4] ACF, Pollination, and Australian Ethical (2024). ‘The nature based-economy’

Updated 22/01/25

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