Win for WA environment: major parties come out with environment commitments

The Wilderness Society (WA) Inc
Conservation Council of WA
Media Release
3 September 2008

WA’s peak environment groups have welcomed the fact that both major parties have responded to environment campaigns and community concern and announced major commitments on the environment today.

“It is very positive that both Labor and Liberals have acknowledged the importance of the environment to the people of WA and future generations”, said Wilderness Society WA State Coordinator Peter Robertson.

“Today, the ALP has committed to a strong and detailed set of policies aimed at protecting three of WA’s great natural assets, our marine environment, Great Western Woodlands and the Kimberley.

“The ALP’s policies on these globally significant areas are backed up with clear timetables for delivery and significant new funding in each area.

"In relation to Great Western Woodlands, Labor has committed to upgrading all current  ‘unallocated’ crown lands in Great Western Woodlands to appropriate conservation tenure – an outcome that will create the biggest new conservation area in Australia since Kakadu in the 1970’s.

“The Kimberley is famous world-wide for its spectacular land and seascapes.  Labor has promised there will be no ad-hoc industrialisation of the Kimberley, protection for areas of high conservation value and immediate work to deal with existing serious threats to the region.  This will be done in part through increased funding for Indigenous Rangers, delivering not only environmental but social and economic benefits for remote Aboriginal communities in the Kimberley”.

“Labor has also announced strong policies on the marine environment that would deliver a world class network of marine protected areas.

“The Liberal Party has also released policies on Great Western Woodlands and Kimberley, however these commitments appear to be less detailed in terms of delivery timetables and have less funding attached. In relation to Great Western Woodlands there is no commitment to new protected areas, and the Liberal party has made no commitment to protection of our marine environment.”

Conservation Council of WA Director Piers Verstegen said, “Overall, Labor and the Greens have a lead on a number of key environment issues, including their policies on Genetically Modified crops and uranium mining. Much more can also done by both Liberal and Labor parties in the area of climate change and coal fired power stations, land clearing, and addressing the states waste and recycling crisis.

“We now know that Western Australia has access to vast renewable energy resources which would make new coal fired power stations unnecessary as well as being environmentally unacceptable. Neither party has outlined a comprehensive plan to deal with climate change.

“The Liberals have matched Labor’s commitment to a 60c gross feed-in tariff for domestic renewable energy generation, and made additional commitments to reform environment legislation ,and increase funding for compliance enforcement by the Environment Protection Authority .

“On the negative side, the Liberal Party has confirmed their support for toxic and unnecessary uranium and Genetically Modified food crops in WA. The introduction of these industries would compromise our clean green status and make environmental protection and regulation much more difficult and costly.

“A final scorecard/assessment of major parties environment commitments will be released at the end of the week.”