 Grassy Woodlands and Derived Native Grasslands of South-eastern Australia _ _ Elizabeth Donoghue.jpg)
The things we love – our most
iconic reefs, forests, wetlands and wildlife – deserve to be protected from
developments that will destroy them.
However, under pressure from big
business and the mining industry, governments are moving forward with an
aggressive plan to wind back our environmental protection laws. In the guise of
cutting ‘green tape’, government and industry propose to hand important federal
approval powers to the states, and fast track approvals for large developments.
This will remove federal protection for our most special places and wildlife,
and accelerate mining and other destructive development in our forests, coasts,
and rural landscapes.
These plans will roll back
decades of environmental gains. We cannot stand by and let this happen.
History has shown us that the
Federal Government has a critical role in protecting matters of national
environmental significance. Many of these ‘matters’ are a result of many years
of work by Humane Society International (HSI), which has helped ensure our
special places and wildlife are being given the protection they deserve – until
now. Short-sighted development proposals have threatened Australia’s natural
heritage several times in the past and the Federal Government has stepped in to
prevent irreversible harm. Without federal intervention, the Franklin River
would be dammed, there would be oil rigs on the Great Barrier Reef and pristine
Shoalwater Bay would be home to a large coal port.
This is a critical moment in
time. It is essential that the Prime Minister hears community support for the
laws that protect the places we love.
The most recent national State
of the Environment report shows the country is going backwards in
biodiversity conservation, climate change impacts, the health of our
watersheds, and the protection of our public forests and woodlands. Now, more
than ever, we need the Federal Government to uphold and strengthen
environmental laws to safeguard Australia’s natural heritage for future
generations.
We’ve come too far on
environmental protection to give up now. History has shown us the power of
collective community action: The environmental protections that we enjoy today
were hard won, and must not be surrendered lightly.
ACTION REQUIRED: Make your Voice Heard: Email the Prime
Minister and your Federal MP Today!
You can contact the
Prime Minister by clicking on the following link, Letter to Prime Minister, and
ensure your voice is heard. If you prefer to write by post, feel free to
use the text in this letter to adapt and make your own.
Please also contact your local Federal MP and let them know what you think of
these proposed reforms, and encourage them to
Protect the Places and Wildlife You Love.
Please write as soon as possible.
Please send us copies of any
responses you receive.
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