NEW POLLING SHOWS OVERWHELMING SUPPORT FOR STRONGER NATURE LAWS

New YouGov polling has revealed a majority of Australians – 7 in 10 voters – say the Albanese government needs to do more to protect and restore nature.

A whopping 86% of Australians also support stronger national nature laws.

Two of Australia’s leading environment organisations, the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and the World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia (WWF) have joined forces to send this message to the Federal government ahead of the inaugural Global Nature Positive Summit in Sydney on October 8.

It is also a critical moment in parliament, as the Prime Minister stalls on strengthening the national nature laws by working with the Senate crossbench.

The new YouGov polling reveals nature protection and restoration is a top priority among Australians:

• A whopping 99% of Australians say it is important that future generations can enjoy Australia’s natural wonders.
• 4 in 5 Australians are concerned that more Australian species will go extinct. And that concern is high no matter age or political allegiance.
• 7 in 10 voters say the Federal government needs to do more to protect and restore nature.
• A majority of Australians (86%) support Australia having stronger national nature laws.
• 9 out of 10 Australians think businesses need to do more to protect nature.

“The reforms of Australia’s national nature laws currently hang in the balance,” ACF CEO Kelly O’Shanassy said.

“All eyes are on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to do the right thing for nature and not cave to a fossil fuel driven campaign to derail nature law reform.

“Nature law reform in this country is a no-brainer. This year alone, more than 30 more species were added to the threatened species list, including lizards, fish, a sea snake, a crayfish and 20 plants, including the Gibraltar Range waratah.

“Clearly, given the results of new polling, Australians hope and expect that our government would not sacrifice nature because it is inconvenient for the coal and gas industry.

“The Albanese government can choose triumph over humiliation at next week’s Global Nature Positive summit, and use the opportunity to deliver on its promise to overhaul Australia’s ineffective nature law by working with the Senate crossbench.”

“With leaders descending on Sydney for the first Global Nature Positive Summit, this is a crucial moment for the Federal Government to deliver on its promise for stronger nature laws,” WWF-Australia CEO Dermot O’Gorman said.

“This new polling shows the Prime Minister has the backing of the majority of Australians who say they support stronger laws to protect nature.

“The Senate crossbench has offered a clear pathway to passing the Nature Positive bills, and now the government needs to get a deal done to fix Australia's outdated and ineffective national environment laws.”

"This decade is critical to halt the loss of nature. These are sensible and overdue reforms that the public overwhelmingly supports. As the world watches, we call on the government to deliver a genuine nature positive commitment."