The Australian Greens are urging voters to ensure “a strong Greens voice” exists in the Federal Government after the September election to guarantee protection for national parks under national environment law.
Greens candidate for Maranoa Grant Newson said that without a strong Greens voice in Parliament, national parks would be even more vulnerable.
“Despite their name, national parks, such as the Bunya Mountains National Park, are not protected nationally,” Mr Newson said.
Greens environment spokesperson Senator Larissa Waters said that across Australia, conservative State Premiers seemed “intent on destroying our national parks, with logging and grazing in Queensland, shooting in NSW and grazing in Victoria”.
“These environmentally reckless State Premiers are a sign of what would be to come under an Abbott government,” she said.
Mr Newson said national parks were too precious to lose.
“(The Bunya Mountains) National park is a major tourist attraction for the South Burnett and even with the dirt goat track access it still brings in a lot of revenue for the region,” he said.
“Although national parks only make up less than 4 per cent of Australia’s land mass, they provide billions of dollars in tourism income annually, are vital habitat refuges for endangered species and are sanctuaries for people to escape the pressure of daily life.
“The Greens are the only party that Australians can trust to care for our environment.”
