Labor needs the Greens to strengthen enviro laws

Greens Senator Faruqi

Labor’s new environment policies will not protect our natural world without a climate trigger and real funding, the Greens say.
“We already know that the Liberals are hopeless on climate change and protecting the environment, and we’ll be glad to see the back of them in a couple of weeks,” Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale said.
“Unfortunately, the Labor Party are showing themselves to be not much better. You can’t protect the environment without addressing climate change but remarkably our current environment laws don’t take climate change into account.

"Labor‘s proposal won’t fix the central problem with our environment laws, which is the lack of a climate trigger to ensure any proposal takes into account the impact of climate change.
“The EPBC needs a climate trigger so that it can be used stop the biggest threats to our environment going ahead: the Adani coal mine, drilling in the Great Australian Bight and the opening of more gas fields,” Di Natale said.
“Australia has the opportunity to turn back the tide on environmental destruction with laws that are strong enough to protect our native species, proper funding for environmental restoration and  real effort to reduce carbon pollution,” Greens environment and water spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“The Greens will work with a future Labor government to make sure our nature is restored and protected. But this must go hand in hand with real action on reducing carbon pollution.
“Under the Greens’ plan, the big polluters would pay to reverse their destruction of the environment. Labor is simply not putting adequate funds on the table to make a dent in the widespread environmental destruction we have seen across the country.
“Thousands of young people protesting around the country yesterday were calling for a commitment to no new coal, oil and gas. Labor must listen to this new generation of leaders if it is serious about climate action and environmental protection.
“Our nation, and our planet, cannot afford another term of the Liberal National Party in control. We certainly can’t afford the Senate being controlled by the anti-science, anti-environment far-right.
“If Australians want to protect and restore our environment, to bring out threatened species back from the brink, and real action on climate change, they need to vote Green.”

Saturday, May 4, 2019