Related Policies
Policy
Properly manage Australia's finite resources – both renewable and non-renewable - so as to better protect our environment, enhance economic and social security, encourage the highest priority uses and leave a fair share for future generations of Australians.
Policy Methods (Federal & State)
To help achieve this Sustainable Australia Party will:
- Conduct regular and full public audits of its renewable and non-renewable resources
- Implement strategic resource depletion protocols and usage rights for non-renewable resources, including minerals, that publicly report the size and quality of remaining reserves, and limit the rate of their utilisation to an appropriate annual quota to ensure that substitution or efficiency gains can keep pace with depletion rates (1)
"Everything from electric cars to wind turbines and solar panels... require an array of metals, like silver, palladium, platinum, copper, aluminium and rare-earths, such as neodymium. So where will we get them from? Will we have enough?" Australian Broadcasting Corporation
- Implement domestic energy reservation policies for relevant resources, including natural gas, to help secure long term energy supplies, maintain downward pressure on domestic energy prices and protect our environment from overdevelopment (2)
"Australia has been 'uniquely stupid' in allowing companies to dig up resources that belong to the Australian people and sell it overseas, without even ensuring there would be enough gas to cover our own use." News.com.au
- Adopt a Resource Super Profit Tax for iron ore and coal, the details of which would be determined following the implementation of a full resource audit and depletion protocol policy (also see Taxation Policy)
- Selectively utilise government revenue generated from the depletion of resources to advance appropriate sustainability goals
- Stabilise Australia’s population size as soon as practicable (also see Population & Immigration (Australia) policy)
Footnotes:
- Depletion protocols publicly report the size and quality of remaining reserves, and limit the rate of their utilisation to an appropriate annual quota to ensure that substitution or efficiency gains can keep pace with depletion rates.
- Domestic energy reservation policies help secure long term energy supplies and maintain downward pressure on domestic energy prices.
