The electioneering has . In a campaign set to be dominated by economic issues, the Coalition and Labor are locking horns over who can best manage our finances, protect jobs and make housing more affordable. The Greens predictably decry the major parties, including their .
These are important issues, but are they the highest priority on the political agenda? An arguably even greater issue exists that nobody is seriously championing, but which impacts all of us, socially, environmentally and economically.
Our natural heritage — the plants, animals and other organisms that help are in dire straits. Yet this is barely mentioned in political discourse, nor is it foremost in the .
The world economy is losing $73 billion a year through . It is predicted to lose $20 trillion a year by 2050 without action now. With potentially , nature conservation must surely be on the agenda in this election.
Actions needed to conserve our natural heritage, and reap substantial rewards, will about social and economic policy. This demands reforms to reverse creeping losses to our democratic process.
Looking at the major parties' platforms, it is clear that nature is not on the agenda. Labor lists , none of which deals directly with conserving Australia's plants and animals. The Coalition has done slightly better, claiming to believe in preserving Australia's natural beauty and environment for future generations. However, its federal platform, released last year, shows no evidence of this belief.
Public concern has also shifted away from nature issues and towards other concerns such as terrorism, as well as traditional areas of focus such as health care and the economy. This shift can be seen in some surprising places, such as the major grassroots lobby group GetUp!. Of its ten current campaigns only one, the fight to save the Great Barrier Reef, is directly about conserving wildlife diversity.
Environmental riches, but for how long?
The value of biodiversity to humans is well established. Biodiversity reduces stress and disease. It also provides new economic opportunities and many other benefits, from climate control, to flood defence, to the many benefits delivered by birds.
These are just the tip of the iceberg, but like the polar ice they are at risk of disappearing through our neglect.
Despite biodiversity's immense value, Australia's natural heritage is not assured. Good news stories exist, but as a succession of government State of the Environment reports over recent decades has shown, our natural heritage continues to be squandered.
The reports cite population growth, economic growth and climate change as key drivers of decline. Land clearing and invasive species also lead to biodiversity loss. All must be addressed to reverse the .
These threats to our natural heritage should be high on the political agenda. But despite , caused in no small part by a , bureaucrats and politicians have failed to rise to the challenge. Australia's plants, animals and other wildlife continue to be swept aside with an reminiscent of the 19th-century pioneers.
Why the lack of action?
Nature is missing in action from the political agenda for many reasons. Here are two key ones: questionable political donations and processes, and the gagging of the public service, government and university scientists. Both issues go to the .
Australia has some of the concerning political donations and spending. Time lags between receiving donations and declaring them means that appropriate scrutiny of policy motivations, particularly at election times, is uncommon. This is concerning, because links between , while hard to prove, are frequently noted.
These correlations are not surprising. Corporate political activities are typically , but a widely accepted aimed at securing better outcomes. Because many companies depend on using land for activities such as digging up resources and clearing native vegetation, the success of their political donations can often be reflected in damage to nature.
Equally concerning is the deafening silence from people who really know how can be for the environment. Inconvenient truths might challenge government policies. So public servants, including government scientists, are prohibited from speaking, . Governments will go to to track down and punish whistle-blowers.
Governments attempting to silence academics hit the spotlight over cattle grazing trials in Victorian national parks. A senior Victorian public servant reportedly if the university did not agree to oversee the government's grazing trial, despite the trial being widely regarded as . Faced with this type of pressure, many university scientists for fear of damaging their job prospects or government funding.
In this climate of silence, major biodiversity issues and are not appropriately aired. The public do not hear about it and so cannot make informed decisions at the polling booth. Consequently, government and public service barriers to honest media coverage undermine an informed democracy.
Valuing and preserving nature are critical for our and , but species continue disappearing at alarming rates to .
There are things that can be done, at a political level, to help stop this erosion of Australia's natural heritage before it is too late. , we should reform political funding rules. We should also encourage, even legally require, honest and open disclosure of how government policy impacts our environment.
[Don Driscoll is Professor in Terrestrial Ecology at Deakin University and Euan Ritchie is Senior Lecturer in Ecology at Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the .]
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