Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s new threatened species action plan does not go far enough, argues Greens Senator Janet Rice.
endangered species
Nature Conservation Council CEO Jacqui Mumford said while the federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek’s promise to halt extinctions is an “encouraging step”, more needs to be done. Kerry Smith reports.
You may remember the joy of spotting a favourite animal or plant at a place you would infrequently visit. When, the next time you visited, they had disappeared, you’d come up with a banal explanation that never included extinction. But now a United Nations report says that unless there is a change in approach, we will lose 1 million species forever.
Scientists and conservationists have called on the federal government to strengthen Australia’s national environment laws, chiefly the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBCA).
The Wilderness Society has denounced the NSW government's draft nature laws as a farce that will allow koalas' homes to be bulldozed while adding to our greenhouse gas emissions.
NSW Premier Mike Baird promised that any law changes would enhance “the state's biodiversity for the benefit of current and future generations” but the draft conservation laws are full of exemptions that will allow huge tracts of habitat to be cleared, including habitat for endangered species such as the koala.