“Not Time To Play Politics”: Climate Change Doesn’t Make The Cut For State Budget

Queensland environmentalists are celebrating a state budget with unprecedented funding for new national parks, while others are frustrated by its “big fat zero” in addressing the climate crisis.

The government announced a Queensland state budget with a commitment of $262.5 million in protecting more land – the lion’s share of which was going to land acquisition and capital works.

The Worldwide Fund for Nature said the spend is the “largest single investment” in expanding the national park estate in the state’s history.

But the environment spend ends there in a budget comprised of 2032 Brisbane Games planning and catch-up health spending, and conservationists across Queensland have said there’s “nothing for climate” in this budget.

Whitsunday Conservation Council Vice President Tony Fontes said there is “zero money in [the budget] for mitigation of climate change”.

“In a time where we’ve had terrible flooding in Queensland, and a mass coral bleaching event in Queensland, it’s simply not good enough,” he said.

Mr Fontes said that, especially for the Whitsundays, the Great Barrier Reef’s sixth mass coral bleaching event in March this year should act as a wakeup call – even more so considering it was the first ever during a La Nina weather cycle.

The spend on climate has drawn significant ire from Queensland conservationists who have pointed to the Palaszczuk Government’s three-time election promise that they would act on the climate crisis.

Mr Fontes said that those have, thus far, been empty promises, and didn’t reflect a populous who only recently changed its federal government because of its inability to act on climate.

“That 2030 emissions reduction target doesn’t look so good anymore when compared to Victoria and New South Wales cutting their targets by 50 per cent in the same time,” Mr Fontes said.

“The Federal government are aiming for 43 per cent by 2030, and Queensland need to put their hand up with the rest of the country and say we’re with you.”

Mr Fontes said the state government need to approach the issues they’re facing now “holistically” – particularly in reference to the Great Barrier Reef.

“They need transition plans for coal communities and to bump up that emissions target, because those need to be big ticket budget items,” he said.

“The number one goal holistically with reef protection is to mitigate climate change first, then reef restoration second, if you have to put one over the other.”

The state government’s 10-year energy transition plan is scheduled for release later this year.

Queensland’s state budget has a mammoth $262.5 million commitment to national parks, but a conspicuous lack of climate crisis spending according to conservationists

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