2023 Federal Budget allocates significant funding for environmental repair projects

The 2023/24 Federal Budget delivered by Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been described by Federal Minister for the Environment Tanya Plibersek as contributing towards “building a nature positive Australia” with the Budget helping to “protect more of what’s precious, repair more of what’s damaged, and manage nature better for the future.”

Minister Plibersek advises that “at the heart of this plan is $121 million to establish Environment Protection Australia, to restore trust to a system that badly needs it.

“The EPA will be a tough cop on the beat. It will transform our system of environmental approvals. It will be transparent and independent. It will make environmental assessments, decide project approvals and the conditions attached to them, and it will make sure that those conditions are being followed on the ground.”

While Australia is home to some of the most stunning natural environments in the world, Minister Plibersek notes that “after a decade of neglect” many of these places are now in a state of unacceptable disrepair. This has jeopardised efforts to protect threatened species and conserve native habitats, while undermining tourism opportunities for regional economies.

This Budget provides urgent funding to save some of Australia’s most precious places and those who look after them, including:

• $262.3 million to support Commonwealth national parks. This new funding will go into upgrading or replacing outdated infrastructure, ensuring staff can carry out threatened species protection, increasing opportunities for First Nations employment and businesses, and more.

• $92.8 million for urgent upgrades in the town of Muṯitjulu within Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, to provide critical infrastructure like water, sewerage and electricity, and help deliver better health and housing outcomes.

• $163.4 million to ensure the Australian Institute of Marine Science can continue to provide world-leading scientific marine research and protect our oceans, including the Great Barrier Reef.

• $45.2 million for the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, to address a critical backlog of repairs. This will address deteriorating wharves and docks, seawall destabilisation, safety concerns like rock falls from cliffs, and other maintenance needed to ensure public safety and avoid permanent loss of heritage value.

This Budget invests in projects that repair nature, including:

• $439.2 million to support programs that repair World Heritage properties, restore Ramsar wetlands, and conserve threatened species and ecosystems. (Australia currently has 67 Ramsar wetlands that cover more than 8.3 million hectares. Ramsar wetlands are those that are representative, rare or unique wetlands, or are important for conserving biological diversity.)

• $118.5 million to help community groups, NGOs, councils, and First Nations groups carry out projects to clean up and restore local urban rivers and waterways. These include activities like planting native species along creeks and building small-scale wetlands to filter pollution and improve water quality.

• $7.7 million to support landholders to carry out activities that repair nature, by establishing our world leading Nature Repair Market.

Minister Plibersek continued “Australians want to live in a country that is nature positive – a country that stops environmental decline and repairs nature.

“We’ve set out our plans for new environmental laws. We’ve set a target for zero new extinctions. We’ve committed to protecting 30% of our land and water by 2030. We’ve invested in recycling and the circular economy. And we’ve fought for nature on the world stage.”

Image. Wetlands. Credit: Charles Sturt University