WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO STRENGTHEN AUSTRALIA’S NATURE LAWS AND PROTECT WILDLIFE?

By Katinka Day, Government Relations Manager, WWF-Australia

I feel lucky to live in a country with the world’s most incredible and distinctive animals. On a good day, as I walk my son to preschool, I can spot the pink underbelly of a galah, hear cockatoos screeching and glimpse the rainbow feathers of lorikeets gathering for breakfast in the trees. I’m also privileged to do this while living in the middle of the largest city in the country. In fact, our wildlife is so unique that 86% of our mammals can’t be found anywhere else. But despite this, Australia has a shameful track record for protecting our wildlife and the places they call home. We have the worst mammal extinction rate of any country in the world. We are so bad at protecting our wildlife that at least 104 species have gone extinct since colonisation. These are animals and plants that we, our kids and future generations will never get to see or enjoy.

The first question that may come to you is why? Why don’t we, as a prosperous country, have better laws, systems and processes to better protect our unique wildlife that exist nowhere else in the world? It's a very good question. The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act),  Australia’s federal nature laws, is Australia’s national environmental legislation. The Act exists as a legal framework to balance the protection of our environment with society’s economic and social needs. But the pendulum has swung too far away from environmental protection and these laws aren’t working.

For example, more than 7.7 million hectares of threatened species habitat have been destroyed in the last two decades.

The laws are so ineffectual that an independent review in 2020 found that without urgent changes, most of Australia's threatened plants, animals and ecosystems will become extinct. The review had some great recommendations to protect nature as well as help businesses do the right thing.

Three years ago, the Albanese government came to power promising to overhaul Australia’s national environment laws through its Nature Positive Plan. WWF-Australia, along with other environmental groups, welcomed this plan and worked tirelessly to help advocate for and develop improvements to our laws that genuinely protect the environment while still balancing the needs of business.

But instead of delivering on their promise to improve Australia’s broken nature laws, on 26 March, the government rushed through legislation that further weakened nature laws to allow the continuation of the unsustainable salmon farming industry in Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania. This will push the endangered Maugean skate towards extinction, a species that only lives in Macquarie Harbour, and has survived on this planet for around 66 million years. More broadly, it sets a dangerous precedent and is just another example of why we must speak up for nature now. Your voice matters. Now is a critical time to call on your leaders to Choose Nature.

While the government has re-committed to fixing nature laws, it has failed to do so while it had the chance this term. As we fast approach an election, we need to send a very clear message to all parties and independents that we need the next parliament to strengthen protections for nature as an urgent priority.

I’m not alone in wanting this change. 86% of Australians agree that we need stronger laws to protect our environment.

And I’m sure I’m not alone in wanting to live in a country where we can marvel at koalas sitting in beautiful grey gums or glimpse greater gliders flying through ancient forests. The risk is that if we don’t act now, these animals become merely stories we read to our kids. Please join me and call on our future representatives to protect this beautiful country of ours and Choose Nature.