Environment the big loser in this year's Federal Election

One likely outcome of the 2025 Federal Election is that environmental issues will continue to be abandoned in the face of public protest, writes Sue Arnold.

ON 3 MAY, voters will be given multiple choices. As both major parties battle for a majority vote, policy issues are significantly limited, with critical issues abandoned or deliberately quarantined.

Voters might question whether environmental issues – issues critical to the ongoing health and viability of Australia’s economy – have resulted in a mutual agreement between Labor and the L-NP to keep the environment out of this election campaign and future government.

Neither party is even bothering to pay lip service to climate change impacts, biodiversity loss, native forest logging, major weakening of environmental legislation or public citizen challenges.

As election approaches, environment still being shunned by both parties

Australians are being deprived of information on the consequences of the lack of responsible environmental policies by both major parties.

No matter how many polls show overwhelming voter support for multiple environmental problems, no matter how many scientists carry out important research and convey their findings to the Government, and no matter how much lobbying, the major parties ignore public protests, petitions and shaming over the environmental crises.

Perhaps the more relevant question might be: What will it take to force Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to address the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss? When will these “leaders” act in the national interest by listening to the scientific community and the exponentially growing public concern?

The recent major flooding in north Queensland is a perfect example of why the environment must be a top priority for any responsible government.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers estimated 20% of Australia’s banana crop could be affected by the disaster. Mangoes, sugar, livestock, road damage, food supplies and deliveries were all impacted.

Chalmers warned that flood-affected areas account for about 4% of the country’s agricultural production.

In 2015, the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) published a report on the impact of natural hazards and disasters on agriculture and food security and nutrition.

The report estimated climate-related disasters such as floods, droughts and tropical storms impacted 25% of all damage and losses in the agricultural sector. Agriculture is the single most affected sector by droughts, absorbing on average about 84% of all the economic impact.

According to the U.S. FarmLoans.com:

‘The ten key factors affecting food security include population growth, poverty, global climate change, political instability, food waste, natural disasters...’

The website details the problems inherent in each of the keys.

Dutton’s 5-step disaster plan: Take to the caravans!

With his electorate directly in Cyclone Alfred's path, Peter Dutton flew to Sydney for a lavish event and ramped up the dog-whistling.

Population growth is of primary concern with major impacts on food security putting more pressure on water and land resources.

Australia has sustained massive growth from overseas immigration, providing a classic example of the problems overseas migration causes.

Migration for the full 2023-2024 financial year was expected to surpass 400,000 people.

Treasury projections indicate that net overseas migration over the last three years amounted to 1.3 million people.

A clear majority of voters want to significantly slow the huge increase in migration, which has created immense pressure on all resources.

The Liberal Party’s policy is a tangled web. In September 2024, former Environment Minister Sussan Ley complained about Australia’s population “sailing past“ 27 million, with migration numbers well above the Government’s estimate.

“Where will they all live?” Ley asked.

A 7 News report indicated the Albanese Government planned to halve the overseas migration numbers from the record high in 2022-2023 of 528,000 to 260,000 by 2024-2025.

The Coalition, according to the article, committed to cutting numbers of overseas migration to 160,000.

The latest news indicates that Dutton now pledges to cut the annual intake to about 140,000.

Biodiversity offsets for dummies

Biodiversity offsets promise conservation but enable destruction. A failed system fueled by profit, not science, is accelerating biodiversity loss.

As population growth is one of the most contentious issues driving political debate and public angst, there’s an urgent need for independent analysis that properly weighs up the costs of natural resources against the economic benefits of large numbers of overseas migration.

Houses, schools, hospitals and infrastructure need to be constructed, which means more destruction of native forests. The increase in migration puts more demands on energy needs, food resources, water and agricultural land.

What is the ecological carrying capacity of this ancient continent?

With no value attributed to biodiversity – other than as a biodiversity offset for projects destined to destroy habitats – the contribution of healthy ecosystems, wildlife, forests, rivers, soil and their inhabitants is disregarded.

Then, there are climate change impacts.

FarmLoans doesn’t mince words.

‘As temperatures continue to rise, more extreme weather patterns become increasingly likely with profound implications for food production. We need to take measures that directly tackle the causes of global climate change before it is too late.’

The Albanese Government has approved four huge coal mine expansions in NSW and Queensland that will fuel over 850 million tonnes of carbon emissions in their lifetime, equivalent to almost double Australia’s annual emissions.

Dutton is keen on gas. In his budget response, he announced plans to force gas giants to set aside 20% of their production for local use, thus driving down energy costs.

Drastic times call for drastic measures

Climate report suggests net zero by 2050 is unachievable on our current trajectory.

The United Nations Climate Action details fossil fuels, coal, oil and gas as by far the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for over 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90% of all carbon dioxide emissions.

Renewables in the form of windfarms are yet another source of controversy with many communities and conservation organisations concerned by the level of damage to the natural environment and biodiversity involved.

Cutting down forests is yet another cause of carbon emissions. Climate Action indicates that approximately 12 million hectares of forest are destroyed annually. Deforestation, together with agriculture and other land use changes, is responsible for roughly a quarter of global greenhouse emissions.

The total stock of carbon in Australia’s forests in 2021 was 19,417 million tonnes, with 98.9% in native forests, 1.0% in plantations and 0.1% in other forest. Australia’s State of the Forests Report claims harvested wood products provided a net sink of 4.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent in 2021.

A U.S.-based company, Soft Frame Designs, has devoted an entire web page to the environmental impact of the traditional furniture industry and the findings are worth sharing:

Every year, the planet loses 18.7 million acres of forest... the vast majority leads to increased greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.

Though wood is often viewed as a renewable resource – and therefore a safe material for furniture construction – deforestation is far outpacing trees’ ability to regrow, leading to an overall deficiency. This widespread deforestation not only contributes to greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, but also can cause soil erosion and flooding, and negatively impact animals’ natural ecosystems.

While furniture production contributes to greenhouse gas emissions through deforestation, it also contributes additional emissions through manufacturing, finishing, packaging and shipping. Carbon emissions from furniture are so high that just one piece of fast furniture can generate up to 47 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions...

Australia is facing complex, critically important issues impacting the economy and a climate-impacted future. The exclusion of environmental policies to deal with the problems raised makes no sense.

We risk becoming a nation run by environmental clowns, with our governments doing the Musk number on our life support systems and economic growth.