YOU MADE THE DIFFERENCE!
Dear friends,
You made the difference!
The Greens’ strong stand and community campaigns around the country mean the federal Labor Government and the state Premiers have hit pause on their plans to declare open slather for big business and mining in our most precious environmental places.
It’s a big victory. The hand off of national environmental laws to the state governments is on hold – for now.
Early this morning, Christine, Rachel and I joined a community rally outside Parliament to celebrate the reprieve for our environmental laws.
But let’s not forget that the companies in the room with the Prime Minister today the same companies that were powerful enough to weaken a mining tax and destabilise a government. Those companies will come back harder than ever next year, and the Tarkine, the Reef, the Leadbeater’s Possum and more are still on the brink.
We have achieved so much together on this campaign:
- More than 6000 people have joined our letter to the Prime Minister and Minister Burke asking them to keep crucial environmental protections national, online and at stalls across the country;
- Hundreds of you have campaigned in your local community during the National Week of Action, on stalls, at rallies and flash mobs, by organising public forums, and in conversations in your lounge rooms;
- I moved a bill to make this or any abandonment of national protections unlawful, and the inquiry into the bill is finally going to give the community a chance to have their say;
- More than 300 groups and people have added the places and species they want to protect to our Too Precious to Lose map;
- We secured a Senate inquiry into the protection of threatened species and ecological communities and the terrible track record of the States in protecting them – thank you to everyone who has written to the inquiry with your evidence;
- And so much more in local campaigns across the country.
We need to step up this winning campaign to build laws that will actually protect places and wildlife that are too precious to lose.
The Labor and Liberal parties aren’t prepared to stand up to big business and mining interests. But the Greens are – with your help.
Thank you for all your work. I’ll be in touch soon with the next steps in our vital campaign to protect the Australian places and wildlife that are too precious to lose.
For today, though: well done!
Thanks,
Larissa Waters
P.S. You can see photos and stories from the campaign around the country on our Facebook page – it’s a lovely demonstration of the breadth and depth of our support.
