Critics of the national nature law reform say it's either jobs or nature - they're absolutely wrong
By Darcie Carruthers
The Coalition has argued the Albanese government’s proposed Environmental Protection reforms will put a “handbrake” on investment. But in reality, protecting nature is the key to unlocking a sustainable and resilient economy, writes the Australian Conservation Foundation’s Darcie Carruthers.
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Exactly three months ago, I visited people affected by the terrible algal bloom that is devastating swathes of South Australia’s coastlines, and the communities that rely on them.
I can still vividly remember my first glimpse of the horrific reality: standing with a local on Carrickalinga beach, the washed-up body of a dolphin lay beside the road, and hundreds of dead fish and crabs were splayed across the sand. I’ve worked in conservation for 10 years, and this was one of the most tragic events I have witnessed. We were left in tears.
Citizen scientists have logged impacts of the algal bloom on more than 600 species, including many that have perished by choking and bleeding. And when nature suffers, people suffer too. Businesses affected by this unprecedented disaster are down an average $52,000 year on year. One of those impacted is Bart Butson, a small-scale fisher from Port Wakefield.
“Without a healthy ecosystem, I’ve got no livelihood”, he told me.
On the other side of the Gulf of St Vincent, I heard the same message from people on the Fleurieu Peninsula. The area’s tagline is “Made by Nature” - a nod to its white sand beaches, sapphire waters and famous seafood.
A Normanville local, Nathan Eatts, talked of the mental toll of the bloom, and of the bills that kept coming. “If this is still here in three months, I’ll have to get another job”. He’s a sixth-generation fisherman.
Three months later, the algal bloom is still wreaking havoc on South Australia’s waters, wildlife and wealth. $100 million in taxpayer funds has been announced to manage its environmental and economic impacts.
Many of the affected businesses are family-owned - tour operators, fishers, restaurant and hotel owners who need nature to be healthy. And yet, as the Albanese Government is poised to unveil a rewrite of Australia’s failing nature protection laws this week, the critics are worried about the economy. They say it’s jobs or nature. They’re wrong. Nature is Australia’s wealth. Protecting it is our key to unlocking a sustainable and resilient economy.
Don’t believe me? Take Australia’s former Treasury Secretary Ken Henry’s word for it. He says our country’s greatest ambition should be to build a “nature rich economy”. He’s right, because close to 50% of Australia’s GDP – nearly $900 billion - and 75% of our export earnings are generated by sectors that have direct dependence on nature.
Aussie industries that bring in tourists, produce our food, give us clean water to our homes, treat our waste and construct our buildings are underpinned by nature. Take the Great Barrier Reef for example. As a natural asset, it’s valued at $56 billion - that’s more than 12 Sydney Opera Houses. 64,000 full-time Queensland jobs rely on it.
And consider NSW’s recently announced Great Koala National Park. Instead of bleeding millions in taxpayer dollars to prop up the ailing logging industry, the NSW government has recognised that (at least on the mid-north coast of the state) our native forests are worth more standing. It estimates the tourism generated by the park and its iconic inhabitants will generate $1.2 billion in economic output in the first fifteen years. It’ll also create at least 9,8000 jobs, significantly outweighing the job losses from the logging industry.
Keeping Australia’s forests standing must be a key test for the success of Albanese’s upcoming nature protection laws. Today, Australia is a global deforestation hotspot. Barely-there laws allow a football field-sized area of forest and bushland to be bulldozed every two minutes. This pollutes the reefs so many rely on, unleashes climate-warming carbon and harms up to 100 million native animals in QLD and NSW alone each year. Bulldozing the bush also degrades the land that provides us with productive soil, clean air and water, costing Australia $224 billion in lost services each year.
For Australia to thrive and for Albanese to deliver on his productivity agenda, this government must remember that the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment.
Australia needs ironclad national laws that protect nature like our futures, and hip pockets, depend on it.
About the author
Darcie Carruthers
Darcie is nature campaigner at the Australian Conservation Foundation, pushing governments and corporations to deliver the action needed to solve Australia’s nature crisis.
So glad to see the devastating impacts of the algal bloom being platformed. It reminds me of a story I researched from 2009, where Australia’s worst offshore oil spill floated across the Timor sea and ruined the livelihoods of seaweed farmers in Indonesia. Except now if it’s climate-change fuelled algal bloom causing the destruction, rather than a discrete pollution event (like a spill).