on our environment

The election has come and gone. The dust has settled. And there’s a new Premier in town. Premier Baillieu and the Coalition now lead the state. So what does it mean for our environment?

Let’s be honest – there’s no glossing over the fact that the Coalition’s election promises on the environment were far weaker than the other major parties. They don’t support replacing Hazelwood, or the draft Murray Darling Basin Plan. And they want to reintroduce cattle grazing in Victoria’s national parks.

Thankfully the Coalition did promise some positive environmental actions such as greater water efficiency and water recycling, improving the star-rating of existing homes, returning water to the Yarra, Thompson, Murray and Snowy Rivers and supporting a target to reduce Victoria’s greenhouse pollution by 20 percent by 2020.

Unfortunately the Coalition chose not to release their environment and climate change policies which leaves many gaps and unanswered questions about how it will address critical environment issues and meet its greenhouse target.

So we have prepared a list of their election commitments, the good, the vague and the downright worrying. You can find it here

You can bet that we’ll be holding the new government to account to these promises and working flat out to get them to change those policies that will send us backwards. In forming the new government the Coalition took on the ethical and legal responsibility to safeguard our environment, combat climate change, rescue our rivers and protect our forests. Our job is to make sure they do just that.

I hope you’ll join us as – more than ever before – we need your voice and support.

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