THE GREENS' PLAN
The Australian Greens want to give all Australian wild rivers protection under national environment law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999).
Under our plan, all new developments that will significantly impact the natural and/or cultural heritage values for which each river has been listed will require assessment and approval under our national environment laws. Like the original Wild Rivers Act 2005, national heritage listing of Queensland’s wild rivers will not stop all development within wild river catchments, but will mean that any damaging projects will need examination and tick off by the federal Environment Minister.
The Australian Greens will:
- Assess each river that has been declared a wild river under the Queensland Wild Rivers Act (2005) for inclusion on the national heritage list.
- Give immediate protection to any wild river subject to imminent threat with an emergency national heritage listing.
- Assess all of Australia's pristine rivers to identify those worthy of national heritage protection, and advise the Environment Minister on any needing emergency listing.
- Provide $10 million per annum to the Environment Department to support the national heritage assessment and listing of wild rivers across Australia, and to support ongoing protection and management of our wild rivers.
- Ensure wild river management is supported by indigenous wild river rangers.