Tasmanian Conservation Trust accuses all political parties of ignoring the environment

Media Release

Thursday 25 February 2010

Tasmanian Conservation Trust accuses all political parties of ignoring the environment

The Tasmanian Conservation Trust today released its state election policy proposals and used the opportunity to express its great disappointment that the environment has been ignored by all political parties in the election campaign to date.

“There has been no major announcements regarding the environment and the ones which have been made relate to improving peoples’ environment, such as better public transport and providing clean drinking water, and the natural environment has been ignored,” said TCT Director Peter McGlone.

“All the major political parties have an obligation to set down their agenda for protection of Tasmania’s natural environment and the TCT expects policies to go beyond forests and forestry.

“While the protection of forests on public land dominates the environmental debate it is only one of many priorities for the TCT. We want to know the parties policies on protection of our reserves, rivers, wildlife, threatened species, marine environment, the sustainable use of water and fisheries resources and the control of invasive species.

“The TCT will be monitoring policy announcements and prior to the election will score the three major parties out of ten based on our ‘Top Ten Election Policy Priorities’. Currently all three parties are comprehensively failing the environment.”

TCT’s No.1 priority for the terrestrial environment
The TCT’s number one election policy priority for the terrestrial environment is for the major parties to commit to establish a Private Land Conservation Fund and provide start-up funding of $1 million per year to provide incentive payments to private land owners to voluntarily protect areas of high conservation value.

“Most of Tasmania’s unprotected and most threatened species and biodiversity values are found on private land and it is time that government programs recognised the importance and urgency of this issue,” Mr McGlone continued.

“The proposed fund would assist conservation, provide income to the rural community and help the State Government to deliver its obligations under the Regional Forest Agreement to increase protection of poorly reserved vegetation communities.

“While the fund would require initial funding from the State Government it would become self-sustainable by also receiving ‘off-set’ payments made by developers as a condition of development approvals, as well as donations from philanthropic organisations,” Mr McGlone concluded.

TCT’s No.1 priority for the marine environment
The TCT’s number one election policy priority for the marine environment is for the major parties to address the crisis in the Tasmanian rock lobster fishery.

The TCT’s Marine Campaigner Jon Bryan said “new management structures need to be introduced to allow lobster stocks to recover, especially on the east coast. The loss of large predatory rock lobster has also resulted in major habitat loss due to expanding sea urchin populations. This needs to be reversed as it directly threatens the productivity of both the abalone and rock lobster fisheries, as well as the biodiversity of Tasmania’s marine environment.”

The document released to the media ‘Summary of the Tasmanian Conservation Trust’s Policy Proposals for the 2010 State Election and Beyond’ is a compilation of 33 detailed policy proposals which the TCT has submitted to the three major parties over the last six months. The summary document and more detailed information is available on the TCT’s web site www.tct.org.au

TCT’s Top Ten Election Policy Proposals
– Establishment of a Private Land Conservation Fund.
– Putting the Drought-proofing Tasmania Irrigation Program on a sustainable footing.
– Banning the poisoning of native animals with 1080 or any other poison.
– Banning the recreational killing of wild ducks, short-tailed shearwater, wallaby and quail.
– Increasing funding to the Parks and Wildlife Service by at least $28 million in 2010-2011.
– Reservation of the 77,513 hectares of Crown land recommended in 2006 by the Crown Land Assessment and Classification Program and supported by State Cabinet.
– Developing a strategy to restore the Tasmanian Rock Lobster fishery and stop the devastation of urchin barrens on east coast reefs.
– Banning the use of recreational gillnets and drop lines with more than two hooks.
– Provision of funding for implementation of the Cat Management Act 2009 and for a broad feral animal control program.
– Re-instating vegetation clearing controls over private land which were weakened by the State Government in November 2009.

Further information:
Peter McGlone
Director
Tasmanian Conservation Trust
Mobile: 0406 380 545
Web: www.tct.org.au

Attachment:
‘Summary of the Tasmanian Conservation Trust’s Policy Proposals for the 2010 State Election and Beyond’

Download: 5236_TCT_Election_Policy_Document_Colour.pdf

Point of clarification in relation to Environment Tasmania Policy Agenda
On 3 February 2010, Environment Tasmania released the document ‘Joint Tasmanian Environment Groups 2010 Environment Policy Agenda’. The document’s title and opening sentence, stating that ‘This document outlines the key policy asks of Tasmanian environment groups… to consider as part of the 2010 state election’ may give the false impression that the document is endorsed by and contains the ‘key policy asks’ of all Tasmanian environment groups. The TCT and most environment groups with which we work were not asked to endorse the Environment Tasmania statement, nor provide input to it. The TCT has its own views on environmental priorities and they are contained in the attached document ‘Summary of the Tasmanian Conservation Trust’s Policy Proposals for the 2010 State Election and Beyond’.
Tasmanian Conservation Trust Inc
Peter McGlone Tasmanian Conservation Trust