Too little, too late: alarm as state pollies ‘ignore’ SA’s environment
As billions of dollars in promises are thrown around and election day is a week away, Conservation SA CEO Kirsty Bevan says major parties have been woefully lacking in addressing South Australia’s most urgent challenges.
With just one week until South Australians head to the polls, a glaring and troubling gap has emerged in the election commitments. Across press conferences, policy launches and campaign announcements, Labor and the Liberals have laid out promises on hospitals, transport, cost-of-living relief and regional services.
But on the environment they have offered little to nothing. This should alarm every South Australian.
In January, the Conservation Council of South Australia (Conservation SA), approached all three major parties with five key commitments needed to protect and restore nature. These were practical, targeted and urgent proposals designed to strengthen environmental laws, protect biodiversity, and restore critical ecosystems. We asked for $81 million – which includes $31 million towards the ecological impact of the harmful algal bloom.
The Liberals never responded.
Labor made a $19.2m announcement on March 13 – just eight days from the election.
The Greens made a $200m commitment on February 6.
Neither of the two major parties offered a commitment to nature that comes close to the commitment nature needs, or what was asked for by the council.
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Once existing algal bloom funding is excluded, Labor has committed just $5 million to nature restoration — only 0.2 per cent of its $1.9 billion in election promises so far.
This failure to meet the needs of nature is not a minor oversight. It is a fundamental blind spot in our political conversation – one that carries enormous consequences for our economy, public health, cultural values and long-term resilience. How was nature and climate so absent from the latest Leaders debate?
Nature underpins every part of our lives.
We are now at a point where every economic, social and health decision must consider its impact on nature. Our environment is not an optional extra – it is the foundation that supports our wellbeing, our industries, our communities and our security.
Ignoring nature in this election means ignoring:
- The health and security of our water
- The health of our marine ecosystems.
- The stability of our climate
- The cultural connection and rights of First Nations peoples.
- The liveability of our state
With the climate changing as rapidly as it is, we are guaranteed to see more environmental disasters leading to ecological decline. These are not abstract scenarios; they are unfolding right now.
As we approach the one-year anniversary of the harmful Algal Bloom that continues to devastate the SA coastline, the lesson could not be clearer:
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When nature collapses, communities pay the price.
It was surfers, not the authorities, who first alerted government to the unfolding crisis.
Is this what our future looks like? Is this to become our new ‘normal’?
If we do not put nature at the centre of our decision making, then the answer is ‘yes’. We will see more disasters, more damage, and more closures.
South Australians deserve leaders who understand that environmental protection is not a niche issue. It is a core responsibility of government.
We need commitments that match the scale of the challenges we face.
- Stronger laws to protect biodiversity
- Appropriate funding for monitoring, research and restoration long term
- Transparency and accountability on environmental impacts
- Respectful and meaningful partnerships with First Nations Communities
- Climate action grounded in science and justice.
How have both major parties avoided these conversations?
We should all call on every party to show the courage, clarity and commitment that the future of South Australia demands – because we know there is no future without nature.
Kirsty Bevan is the chief executive officer of the Conservation Council of South Australia (Conservation SA).
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