Environment

What We're Doing

Following a decade of neglect, the Albanese Government is acting. Our policies will restore our environmental protection laws, repair what’s been damaged and institute better management for the future. We have a clear path to becoming a nature positive economy and net zero by 2050. 

 

“Within the seams of the bedrock of our ancient land, like precious ores, lie new ways of thinking. The One Health model encompassing human, animal and environmental health immediately elevates stewardship. Our First Nations have known this all along. We cannot privilege one above the other, because we are nourished both physically and spiritually by the natural world.”

- Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah MP, Maiden Speech, 1 August 2022

 

 

Australia's Strategy for Nature 2019-2030

We are working with all states and territories to update Australia’s Strategy for Nature 2019-2030. This update will set ambitious national targets and demonstrate how Australia will contribute to the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

On 10 November 2023, Australia’s environment ministers agreed on 6 priority areas for national targets under the strategy. These are:

  • protecting and conserving 30% of Australia’s land and 30% of Australia’s oceans by 2030
  • working towards zero new extinctions
  • effective restoration of degraded terrestrial, inland water, marine and coastal ecosystems
  • tackling the impact of invasive feral species
  • building a circular economy and reducing the impact of plastics on nature
  • minimising the impact of climate change on nature.

Ministers also agreed on 3 elements that will be essential to achieving the national targets. These are:

  • ensuring environmental data and information is widely accessible and supports planning.
  • incorporating nature into government and business decision-making. This includes financing, policy reform, regulation and planning.
  • ensuring equal representation in decisions relating to nature, particularly for First Nations people.

 

Legislation

Labor knows Australia's environmental laws are broken. Nature is being destroyed and businesses are waiting too long for decisions. Things must change. 

  • We are supporting Australia’s first national Environmentally Sustainable Procurement Policy which aligns with recommendations from the Circular Economy Ministerial Advisory Group interim report, delivering a future remade in Australia.
  • In response to Professor Graeme Samuel’s Independent Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity (EPBA) Act, we have released a package of reforms. These new laws have been developed in collaboration with business and community stakeholders and will strengthen our environmental laws. The centrepiece of our reforms is the legislation of National Environmental Standards to improve environmental protections and guide decision-making. Learn more about how we’re implementing National Environmental Standards here.
  • At the heart of our Nature Positive Plan is a $121 million investment to establish Environment Protection Australia (EPA), a transparent and independent body that will restore trust to our system of environmental approvals. EPA will make environmental assessments, oversee the approval of projects and their attached conditions and ensure accountability for them on the ground. It will be resourced and empowered to ensure compliance with the new Act.

 

Global Leadership

  • We led the way at COP15, the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, and fought fiercely for ambitious global biodiversity agreements. This included the creation of the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People, which includes a goal to protect 30% of the world’s land and 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030.
  • We have signed the Leader’s Pledge for Nature, the Joint Declaration on the creation of a Global Coalition for Blue Carbon, and the Forests and Climate Leaders Partnership.
  • We joined the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution by 2040, signalling our strong ambition to end plastic pollution under this new plastics pollution treaty. We recently defended this commitment in Paris, participating in critical talks to prevent the treaty from becoming watered down and unenforceable.
  • The Closing the Hole in the Ozone Layer legislation passed in 2022 will ensure we contribute to global efforts to close the hole in the ozone layer as part of the Montreal Protocol championed by the Hawke government. It will also help us meet our ambitious emissions reduction targets, as part of the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Program.

 

Biodiversity

The Albanese Labour government is working hard to preserve and protect our unique biodiversity. We are:

  • Supporting council-led projects that will contribute to the protection and resilience of the Great Barrier Reef.
  • Supporting our Commonwealth national parks, including urgent upgrades in the town of Mutitjulu within Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park to provide critical infrastructure.
  • Investing in Koala conservation through the Saving Koalas Fund. This includes $10 million to help community groups rebuild koala habitat.
  • Launching the Threatened Species Action Plan: Toward Zero Extinctions. This will set out a pathway for the conservation of threatened species, and their recovery over the next decade. Within this, we are spending $224.5 million on the Saving Native Species program to boost outcomes for our threatened native animals and plants. This includes $24.7 million to eradicate gamba grass in the Kakadu National Park and $24.8 million to control Yellow Crazy Ants.
  • Endeavouring to conserve the Great Barrier Reef, investing a record $1.2 billion in its preservation and protection. Indigenous rangers will play a lead role in reef preservation, with the Albanese government ensuring at least $100 million of protection and restoration work to Indigenous ranger organisations by the end of the decade. 

 

Land and Water

The Albanese Labor government is working hard to protect and restore Australia's land and water. We are:

  • Supporting programs that repair World Heritage properties, restore Ramsar wetlands and conserve threatened species and ecosystems.
  • Supporting landholders to carry out activities that repair nature. This will establish a world-leading Nature Repair Market.
  • Of the $200 million Urban Rivers and Catchments Program, we will allocate $1 million to support the City of Stonnington’s work to regenerate the KooyongKoot, which flows into the Yarra River. This new wetland in Tooronga Park will improve the quality of water runoff into the Kooyongkoot and assist with flood mitigation.
  • Committing to delivering the Murray Darling Basin Plan in full. This sets the amount of water that can be taken from the Basin each year, leaving enough for our rivers, lakes and wetlands and the plants and animals that depend on them. The Restoring Our Rivers Bill 2023 has now passed Parliament which promises to deliver an additional 450GL of environmental water.
  • Redifining the National Water Grid Fund’s investment framework – aiming to improve water security while being economically and environmentally sustainable. This will ensure we can secure drinking water for the towns that need it most.
  • Investing and partnering with the New South Wales Government to investigate water recycling in Tamworth to boost long-term water security.
  • Investing in effective water delivery in Deniliquin. This funding will allow water to be better targeted and distributed to restore local creeks and wetlands – better mimicking the natural flow of water.

 

Research and Innovation

The Albanese Labor government is investing in research and innovative solutions. We are:

  • Supporting Western Australia’s most advanced tyre recycling infrastructure, doubling Western Australia’s production of crumbed rubber for use in recycled products like rubber chips, granules and powders – for reuse in things like roads and playgrounds.
  • Supporting the Australian Institute of Marine Science to continue world-leading scientific marine research.
  • Introducing the Soft Landing mattress recycling and collection scheme, which assists residents and businesses in VIC, the ACT, NSW and WA to recycle mattresses. For a fee, you can drop off your mattress at a recycling facility or pay an additional fee to have your mattress picked up.
  • Establishing the Circular Economy Ministerial Advisory Group to guide our nation’s transition to a more circular economy by 2030.  
  • Investing in building and upgrading recycling infrastructure, including for hard-to-recycle plastics like soft plastics.
  • Investing in low-emission and clean energy recycling technologies with $3 billion in our National Reconstruction Fund and $100 million for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
  • Building a new facility which will transform Queensland’s paper-recycling industry. The facility will be used to turn 220,000 tonnes of wastepaper and cardboard from across Queensland and northern New South Wales into pulp annually for export.

 

First Nations First

  • First Nations Australians managed this country for 65,000 years, they are the world’s most successful environmental custodians. We must protect and utilise their knowledge.
  • We have invested $231.5 million to expand and improve the Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) program over the next five years. This includes $14.5 million to establish 10 new IPAs. IPAs now cover 87 million hectares of land and over 5 million hectares of sea country. The 10 new IPAs will contribute to our commitment to protect 30 per cent of land and seas by 2030 and help deliver on the Closing the Gap Implementation Plan, enabling First Nations People to maintain their physical and spiritual connection to Country.
  • We’re investing $150 million in First Nations water infrastructure to provide safe and reliable water for remote and regional Indigenous communities.

Authorised by Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah MP, Level 1, 261-271 Wattletree Rd Malvern VIC 3144