The rise and rise of the ‘green voter’ puts our major-party leaders on notice.

Media Release
Sunday, August 22, 2010

The Wilderness Society has today said that the rise and rise of ‘the Green voter’ puts our National leaders on notice about the importance of environmental issues that affect us all.

“Whoever forms Government will have to address pressing issues such carbon pollution and climate change, management of rivers and water, and protection and management of our natural resources and heritage”, said Mr Esposito, spokesperson for the Wilderness Society.

“And with the Greens holding the balance of power in the Senate, and potentially helping to determine who forms Government in the Lower House, the environment, and environmentally-minded voters, cannot be ignored any longer”, he said

“If a Gillard minority Government is formed, it is clear it will owe an enormous amount to the flow of Green voter preferences.

“And with the bulk of the swing away from Labor going to the Greens, an Abbot minority Government will have little legitimacy on environmental policy. The question remains, if Mr Abbott is PM, will we see real national action to protect and manage our environment?” he said.

The Wilderness Society maintains that the two biggest parties, the ALP and the Liberal-National Coalition, went missing-in-action on the environment this election. Their leadership credentials on national environmental priorities are seriously lacking after this campaign.

“This inaction should not be seen as a licence to ignore or downplay the critical issue of future environmental security. Regardless of who forms the next Federal government the Wilderness Society will continue to advocate for environment protection from day one of this new term”, he said.

“The Greens’ senate and lower house success, and the fact that they received the third largest portion of the popular vote, means we will now have a strengthening leadership in Parliament that will stand up to protect and manage our environment”, he concluded.

The Wilderness Society is Australia’s largest conservation group and is politically non-aligned.