Society says ‘it’s up to voters to work out what politicians they want to make into threatened species’

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The Wilderness Society will target former environment ministers Greg Hunt and Josh Frydenberg and former prime minister Tony Abbott in its first major federal election campaign in a decade.

After a summer in which temperature records tumbled and up to a million fish died in in the Lower Darling, climate change and the environment are front and centre in voters’ minds before the expected May election, according to conservation groups and the major parties’ internal polling.

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The Wilderness Society is crowdfunding ads that target the Coalition’s record on the environment and call for new laws including an Environmental Protection Agency, a policy backed by the Greens and Labor at its national conference in December.

The environmental group’s targets are the usually safe Liberal seats of Flinders, held by Hunt on 7.2% after a redistribution, Kooyong, held by 12.8% by Frydenberg, and Warringah, where Tony Abbott faces a number of independents attacking his climate record, including Zali Steggall. A ReachTEL poll commissioned by GetUp released on Sunday shows Steggall leading the former prime minister 54% to 46% on a two-party-preferred basis in Warringah.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Wilderness Society ad targeting former environment minister Greg Hunt and Josh Frydenberg

Lyndon Schneiders, the national director of The Wilderness Society, told Guardian Australia the campaign is a “recognition of the crisis confronting the environment and climate across the length and breadth of the country”.

“The Darling River is dying, the Tassie wilderness is in flames, two million hectares of forest have been cleared in the past five years in Queensland alone and iconic species such as the koala are hurtling towards extinction,” he said. “Climate change is making an already bad situation catastrophic.”

Schneiders said the Coalition government had been “missing in action” after working for five years to undermine environmental protections.

The Coalition will introduce a new climate change policy before the election which is expected to include an extension of the emissions reduction fund which pays polluters to reduce emissions, and has hinted it will do more to protect native species.

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In August Malcolm Turnbull ditched the emissions reduction component of the national energy guarantee in a bid to save his leadership, and under Scott Morrison the government has pushed ahead with a plan to underwrite new power generation, including from coal power plants.

The Wilderness Society campaign will be built around voter contact such as door-knocking and phone-banking, with volunteers drawn from its membership of 30,000.

“The first wave of the campaign will draw attention to the record of those members of the government who have been most responsible for failed policies and decisions [Abbott, Frydenberg and Hunt],” Schneiders said.

“The campaign will also focus on a range of other seats across the country which are home to environmentally-concerned everyday Australians who are angry and want leadership and change.”

Guardian Australia understands those seats include Bonner in Queensland, held by Ross Vasta, and Reid in Sydney, held by Craig Laundy. The campaign will also run in South Australia.

The Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive Kelly O’Shanassy said in October that its campaign will focus on “middle Australia” by targeting the seats of Chisholm and McNamara – both in Melbourne – and Bonner.

Schneiders said charity law meant The Wilderness Society “can’t direct people how to vote but we can put on record the actions, decisions and policies of those responsible for these national disasters”.

“It’s ultimately up to the voters to work out what threatened species policies they want from their politicians and it’s also up to voters to work out what politicians they want to make into threatened species.”