Conservation Council SA's submission focuses on the top priority issues for South Australia, which, like all jurisdictions in Australia, is facing the ongoing and accelerating decline of its biodiversity due to a lack of adequate legal protections and insufficient Federal and State Government investment in nature upon which Australia’s community fundamentally relies for its health, prosperity and cultural identity.
The legislation can be salvaged through amendments but should not be passed in its current form by any party that recognises the how important the environment is to the ongoing wellbeing of our people and our nation.
Our 15, top-level recommendations focus on the following themes:
- Leave the water trigger alone
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Take climate change seriously
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Put limits on Ministerial discretion
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National interest to be in the public interest
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Ministerial decisions must be consistent with National Environmental Standards
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An independent National Environmental Protection Agency
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Fix the ‘pay to destroy’ offsets
On behalf of all concerned South Australians, we urge the Parliament to dramatically amend the environmental legislation before them to increase rather than reduce Australia’s environmental protections.
In particular, we urge our fellow South Australians in the Senate to block any change to the application of the water trigger that would allow upstream states in the Murray Darling Basin to make decisions that will affect the water entitlements, livelihoods and environmental security of our downstream state.