The Greens have called on the Prime Minister to establish a ‘Fighting Fund’ for the environment to restore and protect the flora and fauna decimated by the climate fires. 

Greens Spokesperson for the Environment Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:

“We are facing half a billion animals lost from these fires right across the country and millions of hectares of habitat destroyed impacting survival and recovery of native species that are left.

“We need a fighting fund to restore the environment.

With an estimated half a billion native animals killed by the devastating bushfires across Australia, the Greens are calling on the Federal Government to urgently fund a review of the loss of native wildlife and bushfire-specific recovery plans for impacted species.

“The impact the climate fires are having on our precious wildlife is heartbreaking. The scale of the devastation is shocking and is making headlines around the world,” Greens Spokesperson for the Environment Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.  

The Greens have backed the call by civil society organisations today for the Morrison Government to drop their plans to outlaw environmental and consumer boycotts.

Their call follows the PM’s announcement to the coal lobby last month that he would introduce new laws crack down on environmental boycott campaigns.

Greens Spokesperson for the Environment Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the PM’s plan was an attack on basic democratic rights.

Greens Senator for South Australia and Spokesperson for the Environment Sarah Hanson-Young has welcomed the news Karoon Gas is relinquishing its exploration permit in the Great Australian Bight and called on Norwegian oil giant Equinor to do the same.

“Karoon pulling out of the Bight is a welcome and important move,” Senator Hanson-Young said.

“Turning the Bight into an oilfield will never get the green light from the community.

Big oil copped another blow to their plans to drill in the Great Australian Bight today, with the government agency NOPSEMA, rejecting Norwegian company Equinor’s application requiring them to modify and resubmit their environment plan.

The Environment Minister is in denial about the extinction crisis and plans to use the review of Australia’s environment laws to water them down in favour of big miners and developers, the Greens say.

“The current laws are not working to protect our animals or the environment. This Review should be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix them,” Greens Spokesperson for the Environment Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The Greens have backed today’s call by more than 240 conservation scientists for stronger environment laws and for the broken system which is failing to prevent the extinction crisis to be fixed.

“The Greens will fight for stronger laws to protect the environment and save our endangered animals,” Greens Spokesperson for the Environment Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The Federal Government has today refused to rule out the privatisation of National Parks for high-end resorts, again putting the interests of their rich mates ahead of everyday Australians and the environment, the Greens say.

“Today I called on the Government to honour the century old Australian ethos that National Parks should be for the people and not for private high end resorts which exclude ordinary Australians and devalue prime park qualities, and they refused,” Greens spokesperson for the Environment Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The Senate has today passed a Greens’ motion calling on the Federal Government to rule out giving any public funding to dam and water infrastructure projects that circumvent environmental assessment and don’t abide by proper environmental protections.

The motion moved by Greens Spokesperson for Water and the Environment, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, was in response to the NSW Government’s plans to water down environmental rules to fast-track approvals for new dams and pipelines.

The report in Guardian Australia today that the NSW Government is considering laws to stop courts and planners blocking coalmines on climate grounds shows why our federal environment laws need fixing, the Greens say.

“Australia’s federal environmental laws are out of date and not fit for purpose, especially when we are in the midst of a climate crisis,” Greens Spokesperson for the Environment Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.