2024-04-17
Today’s Senate hearing into Australia’s Extinction Crisis has heard expert evidence that Labor’s broken promise to deliver strong environment law reform will fuel the extinction and climate crises. While fossil fuel lobby groups, mining corporations and polluters welcomed Labor’s broken promise, environmental experts, scientists and the community warned of continued ecological destruction.
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young is chair of the Senate Inquiry into Australia’s Extinction Crisis and Greens spokesperson for the Environment:
“Labor’s environmental integrity has gone from endangered to extinct as the Government dumps their promise to overhaul environmental laws before the next election.
“Today the Senate heard expert evidence that Labor’s environment policy won’t save koalas, won’t save the greater glider, won’t stop native forest logging, and won’t stop the expansion of the fossil fuel industry. In fact, the extinction crisis will continue to get worse.
“Labor’s capitulation to polluters will make the biodiversity and climate crises worse and the Greens will not rubber stamp an environmental sell-out.
“The fact that almost every polluter lobby group has cheered this sell-out, while environment groups and scientists have sounded the alarm, tells you what you need to know. It’s no longer secret: Labor has caved-in to the big polluters, miners & logging corporations and sold-out the environment.
“This is not environmental protection, it’s an environmental sell-out to polluters.
“This is a broken promise that throws our wildlife and native forests under the bulldozers, in lieu of fast-tracking approvals for climate wrecking coal and gas expansion.”