Ineffective laws see nature in Australia getting sicker, not healthier

July 18, 2023

Karen Sweaney

The Australian Conservation Foundation is reporting that one year on from the release of the damning State of the Environment report – and approaching the mid-point of the Albanese government’s first term – nature in Australia remains in a perilous state. Industrial logging of native forests and land clearing results in habitat destruction - the leading cause of extinction in Australia.

Back in November 2022, the Australian Conservation Foundation and researcher Dr Martin Taylor revealed that the equivalent of 200,000 football grounds (400,000 hectares) of threatened species habitat was destroyed in a single year for sheep and cattle grazing in Queensland - none of the clearing was approved, or even assessed under Australia’s national environmental law.

ACF Biodiversity Policy Adviser Brendan Sydes notes “a year ago this week, the Albanese government released the overdue State of the Environment report, confirming what many of us already knew: nature in Australia is getting sicker, not healthier.

“Habitat destruction is the leading cause of extinction in Australia, directly contributing to the listing of 60% of Australia’s threatened species.

“ACF research shows our ineffective national laws are letting hundreds of thousands of hectares of habitat for threatened species be bulldozed without penalty or consequence.

“Nearly eight million hectares of threatened species habitat in Australia have been destroyed since 2000 and ACF’s investigations show this destruction is continuing.

“Since the release of the report the government has made some good commitments, such as ‘no new extinctions’, and has promised an overhaul of national environment laws.

“Although there has been some progress, the Albanese government must now give priority to delivering strong laws that protect wildlife and ecosystems from destruction and a fully independent environment protection agency to enforce those laws.”

The Australian Conservation Foundation’s mid-term nature report card shows:

The government has made a strong commitment to zero new extinctions, but the Threatened Species Action Plan applies to only 110 of a growing list of 2,000 threatened species and habitats – and budget funding remains inadequate.
The government has committed to fit-for-purpose laws that will protect habitat and restore public trust and confidence in our environmental laws. Progress towards this is urgently needed.
Industrial logging of native forests and land clearing continues to push species like the Greater glider and Swift parrot to the brink of extinction, while contributing to the climate crisis by destroying our natural carbon stores.

ACF national nature campaigner Jess Abrahams shares “now is the time to close regulatory loopholes, stamp out double standards and make sure our national environment laws and institutions are up to the task of protecting our wildlife.”

Mid-term nature report card

Image. Land clearing in Queensland. Credit ACF/ Dr Martin Taylor