A message by the ACF - due date 24 Dec

Strong effective environment laws needed to protect our natural treasures

Our federal environment laws – the last resort of protection for our precious places and species – are under attack. Under the guise of streamlining, earlier this year big business pushed for the final say on developments that affect our most iconic, sensitive and vulnerable environments to be transferred from the federal government to the states. The same states who’ve in the past placed short-term economic, political and financial gains ahead of national treasures like the Great Barrier Reef. After a concerted campaign by ACF and other environmental organisations, last week the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) put these plans on hold till next April. But the plan is not completely off the table and big business is bound to push the government to reconsider. We’ve committed to keeping up the pressure on our politicians to dump this reckless idea for good. Your support today will give us the momentum to push back when this terrible idea is raised again. Just as importantly, we’re working to IMPROVE our national environment laws. In the past, under the national environment law, the Commonwealth has been able to save  the Great Barrier Reef from state government plans to allow oil rigs. However the reef is still at risk from climate change, catchment run-off, coastal developments and shipping. Recent reports show it has lost 50 per cent of its coral cover since 1985.