NSW City & Country Environment Restoration Program
Introduction
With one of the most fragile landscapes on Earth, Australia has always faced difficult environmental challenges. In the past 15 years alone, our population has grown by 17%, while our economy has expanded by 52%. Each year more people, businesses and industries are seeking to share our limited natural resources - the same resources on which our fragile ecosystems depend.
And while we have made a great many environmental gains - especially in our cities and national parks - there are other areas where we need to boost our efforts to protect and restore our environment.
The City and Country Environment Restoration Program provides funding of $439 million to be spent over five years. It will allow us to tackle our most significant environmental challenges. Under this program, we will work towards restoring our icon wetlands ... protecting our marine environment ... securing the high conservation values of our crown lands ... and reducing the ecological footprint of our urban centres.
This program will also send a strong economic signal about the importance of avoiding the creation of waste and the need to recover, reuse and recycle our valuable resources.
At the end of the day, it's our quality of life that will reap the greatest benefit.
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Restoring and protecting our natural heritage
NSW RiverBank
$105 million over five years to buy water for environmental flows and save the river systems and wetlands which are dying of thirst.
Two new marine parks
$25 million over five years for the establishment of marine parks on the Batemans Shelf and Manning Shelf to better protect our special marine environments for future generations. A further $5 million will be spent to implement the management plan for Cape Byron Marine Park.
High conservation value area fund
$13 million over four years for the purchase of perpetual crown leases on land with a high conservation value and, where appropriate, its addition to the national parks system.
Revitalising our urban environments
Urban sustainability grants
$80 million over five years for local government to work in partnership with business and the community to address priority urban environmental issues and harvest stormwater.
... more about Urban Sustainability Program
Strategic Environmental Trust grants
$76 million over five years for grants to support the successful Environmental Trust program in generating new knowledge about our environment, developing solutions to the environmental challenges we face and communicating the issues to the broader community
... more about Strategic Environmental Trust grants
Major crackdown on illegal dumping
$18 million over five years to ensure non-compliance does not undermine the effectiveness of our waste programs.
A new Waste and Environment Levy to drive waste reform and fund environmental programs
A $6 per tonne annual increase in a new Waste and Environment Levy in the Greater Metropolitan Region for each of the next five years will significantly reduce waste to landfill, encourage recycling and fund this significant program of environmental restoration. Rebates to local councils worth $80 million over five years will reward local resource recovery achievements.
Creating a sustainable future for country NSW
$37 million for a Native Vegetation Assistance Package of innovative socio-economic assistance programs to help farmers adjust to new land-clearing laws.
