Everyone’s talking about it.
Not the Taylor Swift tickets (good to have a break from that) – the environment.
Tanya Plibersek is the latest politician to speak openly about the state of Australia’s landscapes.
During a nationwide zoom call, the environment minister faced tough questions from more than 1,000 nature-lovers on conservation, environmental offsets, deforestation, and the Murray-Darling Basin.
Ms Plibersek promised the federal government was up to the challenge of fixing the issues, declaring a once in a lifetime opportunity to get the nation’s environmental laws right.
“We’ve been presiding over the slow destruction of nature, and we can’t do that anymore,” she said.
“We want to flip our laws so they are nature positive.”
Quite right too.
Here at AgForce, we are leading the way on climate action.
While the pollies sit around discussing what needs to be done and how best to do it, Queensland farmers are already on the job.
Take our groundbreaking natural capital scheme for instance.
Through AgCarE (Agriculture, Carbon and the Environment), our producers are actively taking control of their natural assets with a rigorous verification process that reveals their natural capital score.
What sets this apart from other carbon schemes is that it has been developed by farmers for farmers.
It’s also the only known framework that can connect landholders to trading opportunities such as carbon and biodiversity offsets, as well as allowing them to tell their story by marketing their products and enhancing their brand with consumers and businesses.
What’s more, our work in this area has only just begun.
Agriculture doesn’t want a free pass from its responsibility to the planet. We want to be part of the conversations that drive solutions.
We want a strong and equal voice at the table so we can continue to protect the land and care for the environment.
Then, and only then, can we ensure that we continue to put food and fibre on Australian tables for generations to come.
