What do you think of a Federal Government that can’t keep one of its key promises, in this case reforming the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)?
The Act is Australia’s main environmental law, providing a legal framework to protect and manage Australia’s unique flora and fauna biodiversity. It covers land and marine areas, wetlands, threatened and migratory species, Australia’s world heritage areas and Commonwealth heritage places.
A requirement under the Act is that it be reviewed every 10 years and in 2020, a Morrison Government review recommended 38 reforms to strengthen Australia’s environmental laws.
The Albanese Government was elected partly because it promised to implement these reforms and ensure that Australia’s unique biodiversity was given stronger protection from development pressures.
Despite that promise, and the Government’s commitment that there would be ‘no new extinctions’ while it was in power, over 2000 animal and plant species are now federally listed as under threat of extinction—including koalas, Baudin’s cockatoo and the greater glider—animals found nowhere else on Earth. That number has increased during this term of government largely due to habitat loss and resource extraction.
Australia has the highest rate of mammal extinction in the world and is in the top five nations for logging and land clearing. The 2021 Federal ‘State of the Environment Report’ found that Australia was clearing habitat at an astonishing rate, further imperilling threatened species.
Nearly 8 million hectares of forest and bushland – an area larger than Tasmania – has been destroyed this century. This destruction is pushing more unique flora and fauna to the brink of extinction.
In mid-2022, the Federal Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek announced plans to reform and strengthen the EPBC Act including extensive community consultation to do so. However, after two years of prevarication (including a sham consultation process behind closed doors) Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed his Government will not try to pass its nature positive bills this term of government.
Given the opportunity to introduce stronger protection for nature and prevent further species extinction, the Government capitulated to vested interests in the mining, logging and agricultural industries, particularly those in Western Australia.
Reforming the EPBC Act could have been this Federal Government’s Franklin River moment, demonstrating its commitment to strong environmental protection. The community rightly expects better and stronger environmental outcomes from our national leaders so that our unique flora and fauna survives for future generations to enjoy.
David Hill is a member of the Westside Wilderness Group. For more information about the Group, or The Wilderness Society, contact: info@wilderness.org.au
