Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) are lands owned by Indigenous people and voluntarily managed for conservation. There are currently 60 declared IPAs, covering land three times the size of Victoria! IPAs are recognised as providing real social, cultural and environmental benefits through providing employment, protection of country and cultural connection to land. But IPA's are under threat.

Friends of the Earth are under attack. But this is just the beginning of an ideological war by the government against all environmental groups. On the ABC 730 show aired April 10, Liberal MPs Alex Hawke and Matt Canavan singled out Friends of the Earth as the first of 150 groups they would like to see lose its charitable status. This would mean donations would no longer be tax deductible and as FoE stalwart Cam Walker points out, "this would basically mean the political death of our organisation."

The response was nothing short of AMAZING! After the airing of the show, #FriendOfFoE starting trending on Twitter in major cities around the country. But this is just the start of the fight. Here are 5 simple steps you can take to be a #FriendOfFoE:

Friends of the Earth media release. February 25, 2015.

The Victorian National Party has announced that it supports farmers having the right to veto gas drilling operations on their land.

“We are heartened to see the Nationals strengthen their position on the issue of unconventional gas” said Friends of the Earth campaigns co-ordinator Cam Walker. “However, because of the invasive nature of gas drilling and fracking, and the potential for contamination of ground water supplies, drilling is not just an issue for individual farmers. A drill on a property can have serious impacts on neighbours.”

MEDIA RELEASE: 1 Dec 2014

Friends of the Earth welcome the election of the pro-renewable energy Daniel Andrews Labor government in Victoria.

"The sun was setting on Victoria's renewable energy sector under the Coalition," said Leigh Ewbank, Friends of the Earth's renewable energy spokesperson.

"With the election of the Daniel Andrews Labor government, and Ellen Sandell of the Greens in Melbourne, Victoria can enter a new era for renewable energy."

Coalition still missing in action

Friends of the Earth has welcomed the release of the Victorian ALP’s environment policy today.

Unlike the Coalition, the ALP has put forward an environment policy prior to the election. Concern for the environment runs deep in the community, regardless of people’s voting intentions. In the 21^st century it is incredible that any Party thinks it can go to the polls without policies on environment and climate change.

The Victorian election will be held on November 29, 2014.

While the main Parties look set to run a ‘bread and butter’ election – focusing on issues like education, health, infrastructure and the economy, there is also a pressing need to make environmental concerns an issue at this election.

FoE is not aligned with any political party. Its mission is to gain protection for the natural environment, and elections present a great opportunity to promote a policy agenda which will help gain these protections.

The Baillieu/ Napthine government has the poorest track record on the protection and restoration of the environment of any government since Victoria’s peak environment groups were founded in the 1950s.

The state’s environment groups, Environment Victoria (founded 1969), The Wilderness Society (founded 1976), Friends of the Earth (founded 1973) and the Victorian National Parks Association (founded 1952) have today said that the past four years of policy under the Napthine and Baillieu Governments represents a wholesale attack on the state’s environment.

A research report released today by environment group Friends of the Earth shows that the financial cost to governments and the community in Victoria from natural disasters was $19.937 billion dollars over a ten year period from 2003 to 2013.

The report Natural Disasters and a Warming Climate; Understanding the Cumulative Financial Impacts on Victoria is a compilation of loss statistics from weather related Victorian disaster events – fires, floods, storms and heatwaves. The figures of $6,762.87 million in public costs and $13,174.2 million in insured costs are based on estimates of loss cost rather than true cost. Disaster cost estimates in Australia are largely drawn from insurance data or insurance data with some augmentation; they are therefore a limited proxy for true costs. 

The Green Pledge is a new Friends of the Earth campaign that involves taking 5 personal actions for one week to limit your carbon emissions to 50% of the average Australian. By getting friends and family to sponsor you for your efforts, you can raise awareness and funds to help tackle climate change. This year The Green Pledge is taking place from the 17th-23rd of October. Funds from these donations go directly to Friends of the Earth and all contributions are tax deductible. Check out The Green Pledge website here!

The 2014 State election will set the agenda for environment and climate policy for years to come. So it’s time to put the major parties to the test on climate and environment.

Who are the people that want this power and how do they intend to use it?

Come and hear the major parties put forward their case for why they deserve your vote. We’ve invited each major party to explain their philosophies and outline their policies for the climate and our environment.

Starting Tues 23 September.