2024-10-08
The Greens have labelled the Albanese Government’s ‘Nature Positive’ Summit today in Sydney as a flop following Labor’s capitulation to mining and logging corporations, with gutted environment laws currently Parliament.
Amid protests today and evidence from experts that the laws are ‘useless’, the PM has been accused of bulldozing his own Minister’s negotiations over a ban on new native forest logging and a climate trigger.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young is spokesperson for the environment:
“Today’s summit is a flop. The Government has caved to polluters and loggers instead of protecting the environment as they promised.
“In just the past few weeks, the Minister has approved 3 new coal mine extensions in the Hunter Valley and more native forest destruction at Manyana in NSW. This is Labor’s legacy of environmental degradation and broken promises.
“Their proposed laws before the Senate this week fail to protect threatened wildlife and habitat, like our precious koala, from destruction and extinction.
“The Greens have been participating in good faith negotiations, but the Prime Minister seems intent on bulldozing his own laws to satisfy the loggers, polluters and Gina Rinehart. The Government has become environmentally dysfunctional - saying one thing in WA and another thing in Sydney.
“Like the majority of Australians the Greens want an end to native forest logging and an end to the new coal and gas approvals that fuel global warming. Sadly there is nothing in the Government’s “Nature Positive” laws before Parliament to tackle these two critical issues.
“A toothless EPA without the environmental standards and protections that were proposed will just green light more deforestation and climate pollution.
“There is still a pathway through the Senate for stronger laws, but the PM needs to stop blocking and start negotiating.”