Greens to push for 1pc environmental allocation in federal budget

The Greens say they will push for an additional $17 billion in spending on the environment in the event of a minority government, as the minor party unveils its nature policies for the 2025 election.

Greens leader Adam Bandt will join former leader Bob Brown in Adelaide on Wednesday to launch the party’s “plan to Green Australia”, which features a range of biodiversity, wildlife and environmental protection pledges.

The policy launch is headlined by a commitment to, in the event of a minority government, push for at least one per cent of the federal budget to be spent on the environment.

That would, according to the Greens, see an additional $17 billion spent on Australia’s environment over the next four years on top of the existing allocation of $13.3 billion.

“This is a lot of money but it’s important and it’s worth spending,” Greens environment spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young said.

“We know so much of Australia’s GDP relies on a healthy environment and making sure that nature is looked after.

“Whether it’s our clean air, our clean water, our tourism dollar [or] looking after nature, investing in our environment is a boon — not just for the economy, not just for jobs but for the health of the community.”

Among the list of policies to be unveiled by the Greens on Wednesday is a commitment to spend $20 billion over the next decade on biodiversity restoration.

The minor party also wants to spend $5 billion on a “Protected Areas Fund” to purchase land in high biodiversity areas for protection and expansion; it cited securing world heritage listing for the Great Australian Bight as one such example.

The Greens also want to reform Australia’s environmental laws to end native forest logging and institute a moratorium on clearing koala habits.

“This election, if you care about nature, if you want to stop the koalas from going extinct, putting Greens in the balance of power is the only way,” Ms Hanson-Young said.

The Greens say the additional investment would be funded by its plan to increase taxes on “big corporations and billionaires”, which it estimates will raise $514 billion in revenue over 10 years.

The Greens currently hold four of the 19 seats on the Lower House crossbench and 11 seats in the senate.