Jacqui Munro
Shadow Minister for the Environment
Despite Labor’s glossy talk of an ecosystem approach to protecting nature, the 2026‑27 Budget reveals a government that is quietly gutting the very projects it claims to champion.
These cuts will now leave koalas without a dedicated, funded strategy, the critical Beachwatch program without a budget line item and over $90 million in last year’s conservation funding sitting unspent.
Shadow Minister for the Environment Jacqui Munro MLC said the Budget papers tell a very different story to Labor’s press release.
“Labor want families to believe they’ve found new money for nature. They haven’t,” Ms Munro said.
“Strip away the spin and you find that none of the headline announcements in this portfolio have an identifiable line item that we can scrutinise. It’s old funding, repackaged with new slogans.”
“While Labor is busy re-announcing yesterday’s money, they are cutting the projects that were actually committed to last year. The environment infrastructure budget has been cut by $18.7 million. That’s if you can trust the numbers given last year’s significant spending shortfall.”
“Not even accounting for inflation, nature is getting less than two-thirds of the support it received under a Coalition government before the pandemic,” Ms Munro said.
The Budget also confirms at least nine conservation projects have been delayed, and almost 40 per cent, $91.3 million, of funding allocated to environment projects in 2025‑26 left unspent.
“After two years of Labor talking up koala protection, there is now no funded Koala Strategy,” Ms Munro said.
“Funding for protecting koalas in southern Sydney is reduced in this year’s budget. Even Beachwatch, a program families rely on to know if it’s safe to swim, is no longer listed.”
People can also expect reduced funding for a range of other projects:
- Great Walks – Gardens of Stone and Great Southern Walk: funding more than halved, slashed from $40.5 million to $19.5 million – a reduction of $21 million
- NPWS Infrastructure Betterment Fund: down from $27.6 million to just $9.8 million – a reduction of $17.8 million (64%)
- National Parks Radio Network: the very system used to keep park rangers safe in the field, reduced from $10.3 million to $4.3 million (58%)
- Infrastructure Investment in National Parks (Tourism): an almost 50% ($3.1 million) reduction, from $6.7 million to $3.6 million.
- Frontline Conservation Program cut by $3 million, from $10 million to $7 million.
- Improving Access to National Parks, a 68% reduction, from $3.1 million to $1 million, a difference of $2.1 million
- Reserve Establishment and Activation reduced by $1 million, $4 million to $3 million
- Commemorating the Meeting of Two Cultures... project reduced by 32% ($0.8 million), from $2.5 million to $1.7 million.
- Protect Koalas of Southern Sydney: 22% reduced from $2.3 million to $1.8 million, representing $500,000.
“Labor loves to talk about accessibility and ecosystems. But you can’t protect biodiversity with a press release, and you can’t build a Great Walk with a slogan,” Ms Munro said.
“This is a Budget that dresses up cuts as conservation and hopes nobody checks the fine print.”
“The NSW Liberals and Nationals will keep holding this government to account on every dollar promised, and every dollar that mysteriously goes missing.”