Friday, 03 September 2010

Last week you might be forgiven for thinking that the political dead heat in Canberra is only thing happening across the nation. Here are three things of importance to Queenslanders in the areas of transport, Climate Change and water that might have slipped by...

Connecting SEQ 2031

On Tuesday the State Government released its Integrated Transport Plan for SEQ (Connecting SEQ 2013 ). In our view it’s a bold plan but is doomed to disappoint due to its price tag-an estimated $225 billion over 20 years. The main issue is population growth. The plan assumes a 60% increase in the SEQ population in the next 20 years. QCC has asked this question; what would the price be if the plan was based upon a stable population projection? We believe that could halve the price tag and make the integrated transport dream closer to a reality.

Tuesday, 24 August 2010

As someone relatively new to the green movement, I attended Tuesday evening’s public forum filled with excitement, ready to hear the candidates for the seat of Brisbane debate key environmental priorities. The forum took place at the Bleeding Heart Café. With only five days until the election, this was an opportunity for Teresa Gambaro (Liberal National Party), Arch Bevis (National Labor Party) and Andrew Bartlett (The Australian Greens) to clearly address pollution and climate change, sustainable cities and population, and the environment. Polling has indicated climate change and the environment are high priority issues in most electorates.

Tuesday, 24 August 2010

Federal politics should be more interesting in the next parliament witha far greater focus on environmental and liveability agendas. This is theopportunity for government to build the transformation to a more ecologicallysustainable society.

For Queensland Conservation Council that means:

Urgent Action for a Safe Climate 

• We support clean energy, sustainable transport and changed agricultural practices
• We support the transformation to a new green economy

Sustain Healthy River Systems

• We oppose all major new dams and support sustainable water allocation, water sensitive urban design and improved water quality

Protect and Restore Nature on Land and Sea 

• We support larger protected areas, marine parks and iconic landscapes like the Great Barrier Reef

Build Sustainable and Liveable Communities 

• We support a sustainable level of population, a clean economy, healthy local food and zero waste
• We want to see ecological sustainability as a central principle for our way of life

Click here for more informationon our environmental position

Thursday, 19 August 2010

We've all watched the theatre of the election campaign unfold over the last four weeks and now decision time is nearly upon us.

As a non-party political peak body Queensland Conservation's role in state and federal elections is to get the best possible policy outcomes for our environment from all the parties. This election we have fulfilled that role by;

• forming a consensus election platform for the Queensland environment movement and presenting it to the parties,
• organising one of the largest climate rallies in the country - Sunday's Walk against Warming
• co-hosting candidate environment forums in the electorates of Brisbane and Ryan .

It is our hope that Queenslanders will give appropriate weight to the needs of our environment when they make their decision on Saturday.

We have not produced a scorecard for this election. Click on the links below to view the scorecards from our colleagues at;

• The Australian Conservation Foundation
• The World Wide Fund for Nature
• The Climate Institute

For a comprehensive overview of the Science of Climate Change see this recent report from the Australian Academy of Science.

To view images and video from the Walk against Warming click on 'Full Story'

Sunday, 15 August 2010

Walk against warming in Brisbane attracts 8000 -10,000 people.

‘Despite growing cynicism about both major political parties since the Copenhagen Summit and the failure of the emissions trading scheme, thousands of people have still turned out to voice their concerns about the future,’ said Toby Hutcheon, Executive Director of Queensland Conservation. ‘We are delighted by the turn-out."

You can view images of the Walk here

Friday, 30 July 2010

Vote for urgent change to save the Environment

Queensland environment organisations have released a joint position on the key environmental priorities for the next Federal government. They have called for urgent action to arrest the decline of biodiversity, to tackle dangerous climate change and build a safe and healthy future.