Environment vs industry: Lobby groups release federal election scorecards (2025)

It's just three days out from the federal election, and lobby groups across Tasmania have made their final bids to influence voters.

The Tasmanian Climate Collective and TasFarmers each released scorecards over recent weeks, ranking candidates on wildly different metrics.

In this review, we'll take a look at how parties and independents stack up according to these two organisations.

Tasmanian Climate Collective

Formed ahead of the last federal election in 2022, this volunteer-run coalition consists of 17 member groups, including the Wilderness Society, Extinction Rebellion Tasmania, and The Tree Projects.

The Tasmanian Climate Collective (TCC) launched its election scorecards on April 16, showing a clear preference for the Greens.

Candidates representing the state's five electorates were asked 27 questions to gauge their stance on the climate. This covered setting a deadline for net zero emissions, ending native forest logging, and implementing a carbon tax.

All Greens candidates received an 'excellent' score and were ranked first in every region except for Clark, where incumbent independent Andrew Wilkie edged out party member Janet Shelley.

He was one of four unaffiliated nominees to achieve this rating, with Angela Offord (Lyons), Adam Martin (Braddon), and Peter George (Franklin) also receiving top marks.

Labor candidates were given a neutral rating for 'some initiative' and ranked third in all electorates barring Bass, where Jess Teesdale was listed as second preference over independent and City of Launceston councillor George Razay.

This left the Liberals with a 'poor' rating across the board, although the TCC opted to rank One Nation and Trumpet of Patriots below the major party.

At the Senate level, the collective included the Animal Justice Party, the Sustainable Australia Party, and independent Fenella Edwards in the 'excellent' category, along with the Greens.

Meanwhile, the Jacqui Lambie Network and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party fell into the top of the 'poor' category, just below Labor.

TasFarmers

It asked the Liberals, Labor, and the Greens to enhance and maintain the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme (TFES), continue federal investment in Tasmanian irrigation schemes, deliver reliable, high-speed mobile and NBN connectivity, and reduce red tape and cost burdens impacting farm sustainability.

Using a five-star system in each of these categories for a maximum potential result of 20, TasFarmers gave 10 stars to both the Liberal and Labor parties and nine stars to the Greens.

Chief executive officer Nathan Calman was disappointed in the result, claiming that the island's rural areas had been overlooked throughout the election campaign.

"Our report card shows a clear failure to invest in digital infrastructure in the region, where Australia's agricultural value is created. Producers are still facing unreliable mobile coverage and paying higher costs for internet services," he said.

The Liberals fared better when it comes to the TFES, scoring four stars thanks to its ongoing $65 million funding increase for the program, a 33 per cent boost.

Although Labor has promised $95 million over two years, TasFarmers gave it three stars due to the commitment being "time-limited with no guarantee of extension".

The major parties were on equal footing regarding irrigation schemes, with Labor having matched the Liberal Party's $150 million pledge to the South-East Irrigation Scheme.

Despite promising $550 million for a Green Agriculture Australia R&D centre and greywater recycling systems, the Greens were given just two stars for not committing to any Tasmania-specific projects.

"What we need now is common sense policy that clears the way for farming communities to thrive, not additional red and green tape burdens that hold them back," Mr Calman said.