Western Australia needs environmental protection and climate action that matches the scale of the challenges we face.
Although the Labor Government has taken some steps in the right direction, any positive actions are undermined by their:
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Refusal to set a 2030 emission reduction target
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Shelving of important climate change legislation
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Opposition to the Federal "Nature Positive" Laws
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Failure to protect remaining critical habitat from clearing and other threatening processes
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Lack of electrification transition strategy
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Dangerous weakening of WA’s environmental protection laws, and approval of Woodside’s expansion of its massive LNG projects out to 2070
The statistics tell the story of our state - with WA’s greenhouse gas emissions continuing to rise, undermining Australia’s ability to meet its emissions reduction commitments.
Climate + Environment
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Emissions
Emissions are going down in all other Australian states, but in Western Australia they continue to rise.
WA needs to commit to phasing out fossil fuels and no approvals for new projects
We need a Climate Act that includes evidence-based 2030 emissions reduction and renewable energy targets and increase government spending on renewable energy including wind, solar, batteries, and transmission.
Electrification
WA has an incredible opportunity to lead the way in electrification, creating a cleaner, more sustainable future for all of us. By transitioning our homes and transport to run on clean, renewable energy, we not only significantly reduce carbon emissions but lower energy costs and create jobs in the green energy economy.
Every household should have access to affordable, energy-efficient options, from solar panels to batteries to heat pumps. By reallocating fossil fuel subsidies and investing in electrification, we can ensure that the benefits of this transition are shared across our community.
At present WA is the only state not to have programs in place to support the transition to electrification. We need a state-wide program of energy upgrades for homes to improve our homes’ efficiency, making them more comfortable to live in and cheaper to run. A wide scale program like this would offer enduring cost of living relief, saving households up to $3,000 a year on energy bills. This is in contrast to the Labor Government’s $400 - $800 electricity credits provided to Western Australians since 2020 (at a total cost of over $2 billion).
We need roadmap for electrification, so that Western Australians can remove harmful fossil gas from their homes and reap the benefits of the renewable energy transition
Tree Canopy
Community members consistently identify having a green, cool, leafy suburb as a very high priority. However, in 2021, Perth was ranked as the most barren capital city in Australia.
WA remains the only state without basic protections for our largest trees on private property. This allows developers to continue to clear land unnecessarily, without any consideration being given to mature trees on the site. Protecting our existing trees has become even more important in the face of tree losses after our record-breaking heat spell last summer, and the destructive impact of the invasive borer beetle.
In our electorate and in other areas around Perth, local governments and communities have been pushing for the regulation of our largest trees that are providing much needed shade, cooling and habitat for wildlife - but efforts have consistently been blocked at the state level instead allowing developers to continue to completely clear blocks unnecessarily.
We need to set a formal tree canopy target of 30% by 2040 across metropolitan Perth supported by real action - planning, policy changes, funding and monitoring.
Safe Guarding Nature
Australia has one of the highest extinction rates in the world, and the rate is increasing. We need to introduce protections for our flora & fauna before we lose more precious species. Black Cockatoos are a good example of a threatened species that is being driven to extinction by current clearing practices.
As the population of Perth and density increases our shared green spaces become even more precious. Our open spaces must be protected and enhanced for the benefit of future generations; infill is important, but our green spaces cannot be the target for developers.