In 2019-20, an independent review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act declared, “Australia’s natural environment and iconic places are in an overall state of decline and are under increasing threat. The environment is not sufficiently resilient to withstand current, emerging or future threats, including climate change. The environmental trajectory is currently unsustainable.” Further, the review conducted by Professor Graeme Samuel and an expert panel concluded that, “The EPBC Act and its operation requires fundamental reform”.
In 2022, with the election of the new Labor Government, conservationists became optimistic at some new promises by the Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, when she said Labor would fix Australia’s broken environmental protections and put a stop to extinction of native species.
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| Southern Brown Bandicoot: Endangered - EPBC Act since 2015 |
A December 2022 media statement from the minister asserts, “Australia’s environment laws are broken” and “…the EPBC Act is outdated and requires fundamental reform”.
In a new Nature Positive Plan the minister has promised, “…stronger laws”, “ a new Environment Protection Agency”, “A target of zero new extinctions”, et al.
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Gang-gang Cockatoo: Endangered - EPBC Act since 2022 |
At a media conference in April this year, Minister Plibersek could not guarantee that the broader package of environment laws would be introduced before the next election which is due some time in the last half of next year.
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| Strzelecki Gum: Vulnerable - EPBC Act since 2016 |
In the meantime, let’s hope our threatened flora, fauna and fungi can survive encroaching climate change and political procrastination?
It’s all so depressing and frustrating.
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