Environmental

Trumpet of Patriots Environmental Policy fundamentally focuses on REAL solutions for a brighter future.

Australia needs to embrace win/win environmental outcomes that eliminate absolutes on all sides of the discussion. Our initiatives will be focused on the protection, enhancement and commercialisation of our collective natural assets. 

 “A nation that destroys its soil, destroys itself”

Franklin D Roosevelt.

“There is a considered need to shift conventional agriculture to a more progressive new age model that has shifted from negative to neutral and finally regenerative.

We are destroying our collective natural assets at a rapid rate. Centralisation of our food systems and supply chains are considered to be out of touch and archaic in the current economic climate.

We need to make a change now in order to preserve and restore our resources. We need to demonstrate economic viability and strike a balance”

EMISSIONS REDUCTION- THE SOLUTION IS RIGHT UNDER OUR FEET!

Australia presently purports to be “On Track” to reach net zero emissions by 2050, utilising trading schemes and blame games that may divert funding away from genuine environmental investment potential that actually tackles the true cause of Climate Change, not a greenwashing attempt.

Our innovative and genuine answers to environmental protection and restoration achieve much better results, while uniting each side of the carbon debate. The problem and the solution are only a matter of balance.

While Labor and Liberal plan to tax Australians to achieve their net zero, through what might just be a failed financial trading scheme, we will address genuine environmental schemes that will in any event have a much better result, by tackling the root causes of environmental segregation, not the symptoms.

Carbon is not the only enemy. Toxic pesticides and excessive petrol-based inputs are the true enemy, however the silence is deafening. They are the primary cause of nitrous oxide (N₂O) release. N₂O is 300 times worse than carbon. One tonne of nitrous oxide is equivalent to 298 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Nitrous oxide has an atmospheric lifetime of 110 years. The process that removes nitrous oxide from the atmosphere also depletes the Ozone. So nitrous oxide is not only a greenhouse gas, but also an ozone destroyer.

N₂O is threatening the wellbeing of every species including humans on our planet. N₂O is what causes wild storms, intense rainfalls and extreme heat. Carbon Dioxide levels are just a small part of this problem, and have a minor impact compared to Nitrous Oxide N₂O. N₂O is what is killing our oxygen content and polluting our rainfall.

OUR FARMERS- THE HEART OF AUSTRALIA

Conventional inputs, pesticides, herbicides, fertilisers and excessive tilling has created unprecedented soil erosion, resulting in excessive mineral and nutrient loss, tillage and labour requirements, leaving farmers feeling helpless and without an alternative.  Our food security and shelf prices will continue to endanger every Australian if we don’t make changes now.

It is estimated that 50% of the world’s tillable soil is unusable. At current rates of soil degradation, we have about 60 years of topsoil left”

Professor John Crawford of the University of Sydney.

Right now, most Australian Farmers are not having their needs met. Their diminishing circumstances and reliance on expensive petroleum-based chemicals, conventional farming practices have resulted in a reality of low esteem, self-actualisation and belongingness. Home is where the heart is and right now many farmers feel abandoned.

How?

1. Reduce the reliance on conventional chemical inputs, by adopting natural biological products that detox heavy metal inputs, convert toxic chemicals to carbohydrates, maximise carbon sequestration and regeneration of our precious natural assets.
2. Reversal of manure as “industrial waste” to ensure that farmers are able to utilise animal manure and rotational cattle grazing on their own farms. 
3. Reduce tillage frequency and carbon output.
4. Support the regeneration of soil and increase carbon sequestration.
5. Support bio-diversity and regenerative organic practices.
6. Support nature by adopting naturally occurring elements and soil immunity.
7. Set a Regenerative Organic Certification standard that covers soil health, animal welfare and Farmer Fairness. 
8. Encourage intergenerational farming and regional development projects. 
9. Redeploy our union forces to regional development zones to support green infrastructure projects and alternative manufacturing industries as we shift to a new circular green economy.
10. Offset our conventional energy and mining emissions with soil regeneration and carbon capture to ensure that we don’t see energy prices skyrocket. 

HEMP & DEFORESTATION- THE NEW GREEN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 

The Australian Federation party understands the importance of our Food and Fibre industries. Our aim is to provide an alternative to the unintended consequences driven by conventional native logging. 

We fundamentally believe that HEMP presents as a wonderful crop that not only enhances water retention and carbon sequestration that can significantly contribute to the wellbeing of our climate. Government regulation of this agribusiness opportunity must separate the two dimensions of medical use production and commercial production for areas such as paper.

Hemp provides governments the opportunity to cease old growth forest logging that is devastating animal and plant ecosystems, particularly in Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. 

For example, by protecting the Highland regions (Victoria) from logging and deforestation and establishing the GFNP, we could preserve the very source of Victoria’s water. These forests store more carbon per hectare, than any other forest in the WORLD. 

What’s the alternative?

A Great Forest National Park Short Film

Food & Fibre benefits? 

• 4 times stronger than softwood tree fibres.
• 1 tonne grown in 120 days is equivalent to a Radiata Pine Tree grown in 20 years.
• Stronger and lighter than timber, thus reducing transportation drag, weight and potential workplace injuries.
• Can be used for pulp, boards, construction, textiles, cotton, paper, animal feedstock, shelter and bedding.
• Reduces reliance on mining of sand, rock, gypsums, limestones by 30%.
• 85% less pesticides and chemical inputs required.
• Grows on almost all soils.
• Thrives in density, reducing acreage footprint.
• UV and mold resistant.

Environmental Benefits?

• Produces more oxygen than any other plant on Earth.
• Hemp is one of the fastest CO2-to-biomass conversion tools available, more efficient than any other commercial crop or agroforestry.
• Biodegradable (1000x times faster than plastic).
• Reduces water consumption by 40% comparatively to Cotton.
• Can be converted to environmentally friendly biofuels.
• 100% zero waste. Residual converts back to soil in 8 weeks.
• Feeds soil biology to bio-remediate soils from toxins and pollutants.
• Highly absorbent – powder for fuel spill clean ups.
• Sequesters more atmospheric pollutants than bamboo and uses much less water.
• Transferable microbes from soil restores the natural balance of all living organisms.

RENEWABLE ENERGY 

1. Provide an open and transparent platform that encourages Private Public Partnerships in the formation of innovative gamer changer alternatives that have once been ignored or shelved in the interest of major corporate protectionism. 
2. Provide a base-load renewable energies system that decentralises energy storage and localises its enhancement to ensure that communities are able to effectively utilise their own stored energy supplies without duplication of payment. 
3. Double the current $40 billion investment in renewable energy to encourage rapid infrastructure and innovation development and deployment.
4. For technological innovation in energy, transport and agriculture to succeed in reducing costs and limiting emissions, we must have a free and open market so that new technologies and new companies can move quickly into the market. All barriers to entry should be removed. Existing energy suppliers should not be permitted to annex or buy-up new players. The Big Three utilities in Australia (AGL, Origin and Energy Australia) should not be permitted to operate in both generation and retailing.
5. Households, farmers, community organisations and small businesses should be allowed to generate energy and sell it to the grid without restriction. These players are significant innovators and should not be impeded. Co-operatives of consumers can have a significant impact in reducing costs to consumers, and should not be impeded from operating in any part of the energy and transport markets.
6. The role of government in minimising rates of global warming is primarily to ensure that new technologies in energy and transport can reach consumers and businesses as quickly as possible, without distortions in price. It is not the role of government to build power plants, or to favour any one technology or energy source over another. It is the role of government to ensure that energy distribution grids and transport infrastructure remain open to new technologies, new businesses and consumer-driven innovations.
7. Large-scale tree planting can be a significant contributor to minimising rates of warming. In Australia, there are many ecological reasons why large-scale tree planting should be undertaken in addition to its impact on planetary warming (water retention and management, soil aridity prevention, native species protection). A scheme to plant one billion trees annually is not beyond the capacity of Australians and will contribute towards warming mitigation.

RECYCLING AND WASTE REDUCTION 

1. Conducted a packaging audit to help counteract the potential rise of landfill problems.
2. Incentive producers to adopt compostable and Hemp packaging.
3. Adopt a German style “The Green Dot”, the first-ever dual recycling system in the world for collecting waste from households and businesses. It is funded by industry and waste costs are dependent on the weight of a product that companies make – therefore, the lighter it is, the less money that has to be paid by manufacturers.
4. This collaboration saw the recycling rate in Germany increase from 3% in 1991 to 56.1%.
5. Enact an Australian Packaging Act. The main aim of the legislation will be to prevent or reduce the impact of packaging waste on the environment, as well as making retailers more responsible for promoting the use of eco-friendly products.

PROTECTING OUR PRECIOUS GREAT BARRIER REEF

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most iconic and unique natural wonders of the world. It supports a massive tourism industry and contributes to approximately $6.4 billion a year to the Australian Economy. The Reef also supports over 64,000 jobs. 

The primary cause of the Reef’s erosion is water quality and nitrogen entering the ocean, driven by toxic chemical runoff and pesticides from farms. As a result, the Great Barrier Reef Protection Measures have directly burdened the Agricultural Industry in an adverse way. 

The Trumpet of Patriots will commit to working with Farmers, conservation bodies and the EPA to provide inexpensive alternative methods and inputs that convert toxic chemicals into carbohydrates, proteins and amino-acids to ensure that run off is actually beneficial to the environment. 

LANDCARE

We will utilise reasonable and practical actions in partnership with Landcare Australia in a mission to advocate and implement a regenerative environmental standard to protect, enhance and regenerate our threatened Flora and Fauna, wetlands, forests and most importantly our farms. Our indigenous leaders and first people will be the first point of recognition, authority and advice to ensure that best practice is legislated. 

BUSHFIRE RECOVERY 

An Trumpet of Patriots Government will commit to a $4 billion Recovery Fund that ensures recovery and prevention of fires. Deforestation and soil erosion are proven to be the major contributors and the root cause of extreme weather events. Areas cleared of trees and cover cropping reduce local rain cycles that would otherwise be produced by healthy plant and soil ecosystems.

60% of rain cycles are produced by ocean vapour, however 40% of rain cycles are produced by local rain cycles. In fact, healthy rainforests have more water vapour in the air, due the fact that healthy rainforests have more surface area for water to evaporate from. Multiple canopy layers, shrubs and moisture laden grounds are full of water, which transpires or evaporates and enters the air and creates clouds. 

Additional Actions & Summary 

1. Soil regeneration is a critical element of carbon sequestration, water retention of our soil and consequently quality food security and production, and the longevity and productivity of our nation. Case studies conducted on soil by the Rodale Institute and the Regenerative Organic Alliance must be reviewed and adopted to ensure the very source of our planet’s immune system and metabolism are restored. 
2. Indigenous land management practices need to be embraced and developed creating indigenous employment and business opportunities.
3. A review of the behaviour of agribusiness, government departments and chemical supply companies needs to be undertaken to assess the impact of their products on the soil of Australia and the financial impact on primary producers of their products. Representations must be reviewed to assess whether there is transparency in representation in product sales. Additionally, AFP are deeply concerned at reports of primary producers being coerced to purchase non-beneficial seeds due to financial pressures. 
4. A comprehensive review of the agricultural chemicals permitted by the Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicines Authority to ensure that Australia’s food supply chain is free of known toxins and in keeping with the best practice world-wide.
5. GMO seeds must be reviewed in Australia whilst suppliers of GMO seeds internationally refuse to allow these products to be tested and reviewed in our country. Complete disclosure must be provided by multinational companies selling GMO seeds.
6. A review of base load energy generation needs to be undertaken in Australia with a view to identifying the most environmentally sustainable manner to generate base load energy, the most economically efficient and affordable source of energy for all Australians and how Australia can take advantage of its natural geographical advantages to generate significant economic growth by maximising its potential and international opportunities from all forms of energy generation.
7. Australia is well placed to take economic advantage of carbon credits and establish an industry internationally. The integrity of the carbon credit industry must be protected against corruption to provide our current energy providers with a means to offset carbon emissions. 
8. Provide tax incentives to households and community cooperatives participating in community farming initiatives that provide supply of quality food for local communities, food security and generate embedded carbon footprint benefits by reducing supply logistics.
9. Explore and review practices in recycling and repurposing of materials to ensure Australia is maximising its capacity to harvest resources to generate Australian jobs and other economic benefits.
10. Review and negotiate all commercial agreements that are unfair to our farmers.

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

Australia’s pathway to regeneration, animal welfare and farmer fairness