QTPA Member Alert | COALITION PROMOTES POSITIVE CARBON SINK OF TREES, TURF AND SOILS (26/4/2012)
COALITION PROMOTES POSITIVE CARBON SINK OF TREES, TURF AND SOILS.
On Friday the 20th of April Jim Vaughan was invited as an AIG State Councillor to a “Landmark Policy Announcement” hosted by the Australian Industry Group for Tony Abbott the Leader of the Coalition held at the Sofitel Brisbane with interesting outcomes that affect the Turf industry.
The LNP coalition ‘Environmental Policy’ announcement was on the coalitions direction for a cleaner environment, something that is obviously of interest to us if there is a change of government. It was interesting that within the presentation that Tony Abbott actually highlighted the “net carbon sink potential of trees and ground cover and the need to protect the country from invasive species, protect our habitats, soil and water conservation”. This is something Jim has been promoting and and discussing for a long-time and from a Turf production perspective this is exactly what “Natural Turfgrass” provides to the country in all its forms be it; residential, golf courses, football fields, race tracks, open space parkland, school ovals and sporting fields, riparian zones as well as major parkland and tourist attractions. It is also part of our Turf Queensland soil movement and erosion control projects (now picked up by Turf Australia) through reducing polluted run-off providing degradation of many of our waterways, catchments, wetlands and native vegetation.
Jim was fortunate to sit with a number of Federal politicians, two of which have been known to him for some time in Andrew Lamming MP his local member for Bowman (Redlands Research Centre falls within this boundary) that he has done a number of promotions with and Karen Andrews MP the member for McPherson on the Gold Coast, both of which are keen for him to make contact and promote the use of natural Turfgrass as a result of Tony Abbott’s announcement. They actually made a request for Jim to provide them some numbers around natural Turfgrass is a follow-up to this environmental policy statement. This is not an easy task at this stage, as the real numbers in Australia have not been calculated. Numbers can be provided from the USA on Turfgrass.
We have Dot Pointed below some of the six-page presentation’s important areas that positively affect Turf Queensland and its members. The full presentation paper is attached on the link below.
- “I won’t reduce the Carbon Tax, change the tax, or redesign the tax. I will repeal the tax”.
- “In one of his reports, Professor Garnaut estimated that Australia could achieve 286 million tonnes of abatement every year for up to 50 years through capturing and storing carbon in soil. This is almost double the 5 per cent by 2020 cut that both sides have committed to. The Coalition intends to get the balance right. As well as taking direct action to reduce emissions, the Coalition will directly deal with issues like invasive species, habitat protection, and soil and water conservation”.
- “Soil carbon is by no means the only “direct action” means to reduce emissions but it certainly is a vast potential carbon sink. In any event, more trees and smarter technology, as well as better soils, can be funded under the Coalition’s plan.”
- “I’ve never much minded houses springing up on semi-derelict farms but have always been keen to protect our cities’ remnant bushland, especially as it has been so threatened by invasive weeds and polluted run-off. Today, I’m stating what the Coalition will stand for as well as what the Coalition has stood against. We support direct action that will reduce emissions, not just make them more expensive”.
- “We (LNP) support the creation of a Green Army marching to the rescue of Australia’s degraded waterways, wetlands, and native vegetation. And today, I make a new Coalition commitment: to support a one-stop-shop environmental approvals process that sets high standards, makes swift decisions and delivers certain outcomes”.
- “A cleaner environment is an essential part of restoring hope, reward and opportunity for all Australians because we should leave our country in better shape than we found it. The question is not “who is for” and “who is against” environmental protection. we’re all environmentalists now. The challenge is to support smart ways to protect the environment, not dumb ones. The Coalition supports sensible measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, for instance, but will never accept the proposition that you could save the environment by killing the economy”.
- “In addition to a single assessment process, a Coalition government would seek to create a single lodgement and documentation process for environmental approvals. It’s a poorer country, after all, not a richer one, that’s more likely to poison its air and water and to devastate its flora and fauna”.
THE FULL 6 PAGE PRESENTATION – CLICK ON LINK BELOW
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