Federal Budget to provide more funds for climate and environmental initiatives

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers' first budget in office has delivered more funding for climate initiatives than any other in the last decade, delivering, according to a Government statement “strong action to protect, restore and manage our natural environment”.

Aiming to address challenges laid out in the 2021 State of the Environment Report, the budget will look to reverse environmental decline with initiatives including:

• Investing a record $1.2 billion to protect and restore the Great Barrier Reef.

• $90.0 million to employ and upskill up to 1,000 Landcare Rangers to help conserve and restore our environment.

• An additional $66.5 million to support 10 new Indigenous Protected Areas, bringing us closer to the Government’s commitment to protect and conserve 30% of our land and ocean by 2030.

• $14.7 million for the protection of cultural and First Nations heritage sites.

• $10.8 million to improve ocean and marine park management in Australia and to strengthen our international environmental leadership in ocean related policy.

• $91.1 million for the first round of our $200 million election promise to improve local waterways through the Urban Rivers and Catchment Program.

With Federal Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek having recently launched the Threatened Species Action Plan: Towards Zero Extinctions, which indentifies Australia's unenviable record on mammal extinction capital of the world, the budget also includes actions and targeted spending through the Saving Native Species program, with highlights including:

• $224.5 million to help threatened species and places, with recovery work prioritised under the Threatened Species Action Plan. This includes emergency interventions for species most at risk and strengthening conservation planning under national environment law.

• Saving Native Species includes:

• $24.5 million additional spending on koala conservation and healthcare.

• $24.8 million to manage and address the threat of Yellow Crazy Ants in Cairns and Townsville, including the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.

• $9.8 million to control invasive gamba grass from damaging ecosystems and threatened species and prevent the spread into Kakadu National Park.

The Government is also developing a full response to the Independent Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, with, in the interim, $117.1 million to ensure assessment and compliance activities continue while broader planning is undertaken to improve the system.

Commenting on the budget measures, Minister Plibersek stated “(this) budget will allow us to get to work on protecting, restoring and better managing our natural environment.

“We don’t have time to waste if we are going to reverse the decline.

“We recognise that the environment needs a combination of targeted spending and law reform – which this budget delivers on.

“We are working on significant legislative reform in 2023, which will enable us to better protect, manage and conserve our environment into the future.”

However, the funding measures have been criticised as being inadequate.

Lowy Institute polling this year suggests most Australians believe immediate and substantial action on climate change is eminently sensible, with 60% of respondents agreeing that global warming is a serious and pressing problem for which "we should begin taking steps now even if this involves significant costs". A further 29% want mitigation to occur gradually.

Overall, the budget paints a grim picture of the economy in the 12 months ahead as it will be experienced by most households, with less certainty about job prospects, big increases in energy costs, and inflation eating into incomes.

The budget also included $32 million over four years to help local government improve disability access and build up to 400 ‘Changing Places’ toilets.

Images: Indigenous Landcare Rangers with a fishing ghost net. Credit: Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation.