Bulldozing Australia’s great tropical savanna
"One of the largest intact and biodiverse savanna ecosystems left on Earth”.

"The environment minister, Murray Watt, has given the green light for the bulldozing of nearly 3,000 hectares of tropical savanna in the Northern Territory without an assessment under Australia’s nature laws."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/24/federal-green-light-bulldoze-tropical-savanna-northern-territory-threatened-species
#biodiversity #cotton #monoculture #ThreatenedSpecies #EPBCAct #LandClearing #NationalInterest #exemptions #laws #Australia #extractivism #water

Image: The Gouldian finch (Erythrura gouldiae)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gouldian_Finch_(8952067299).jpg

Australian biodiversity and imperial obsequiousness

In a nutshell:
#biodiversity #mining #JarrahForest #LandClearing #UnlawfulClearing #EPBCAct #EPBCActExemptions #cockatoos #EndangeredSpecies
#Australia #CriticalMinerals #ImperialObsequiousness #SubimperialEnforcer #ExemptionPower #NationalInterest #extractivism #zeitgeist

"The Australian government’s decision to allow the US mining giant Alcoa to continue clearing swathes of Western Australian jarrah forest despite past illegal clearing practices was made in part due to a critical minerals deal reached between Australia and the Trump administration last year, a new document shows."

"...The government has prioritised corporate interests and foreign defence interests above the jarrah forests, the endangered species that rely on the forests and Perth’s drinking water – showing just how wrong their priorities are.”

“In the twisted logic of Australia in the Trump age, the national interest lies not in honouring and protecting the beauty and richness of our natural heritage, but in sacrificing it to foreign mining companies.”
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/21/australia-us-minerals-underpinned-decision-to-allow-alcoa-to-keep-clearing-wa-forest-document-reveals

Approved for destruction - Australia a global deforestation hotspot

"More than 57,000 hectares of threatened species habitat was approved for destruction by the Australian government in 2025 – the most in 15 years, according to analysis by the Australian Conservation Foundation."

“A lot of people don’t know that Australia is a global deforestation hotspot … every year, we lose more forest than the loss from the entire palm oil industry in Indonesia...Of the threatened species land clearing, 98% occurred in Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/13/threatened-species-habitat-destruction-australia-15-year-high

Bulldozing the bush: ACF Investigates
https://canopy.acf.org.au/m/9b73d191fe0dca9/original/ACF-Investigates-Bulldozing-the-Bush.pdf

#biodiversity #destruction #deforestation #extractivism #cattle #grazing #mining #EPBCAct #CompanionSpecies #ExtinctionCrisis #NSW

Australia has new laws to protect nature. Do they signal an end to native forest logging?

"There is a straightforward way to avoid the ecological, administrative, and financial problems created by native forest logging – stop it altogether. The evidence shows ending native forest logging would deliver significant benefits for biodiversity, forest ecosystems, and reduce fire risks."
>>
https://theconversation.com/australia-has-new-laws-to-protect-nature-do-they-signal-an-end-to-native-forest-logging-271203
#NativeForests #LoggingImpacts #BAU #EPBCact #Biodiversity #conservation #governance #PoliticsOfUnsustainability #harm #thinning #LoggingIndustry #bushfires #risks

Australia finally acknowledges environment underpins all else. That’s no small thing

"We have acted as if we can choose, indefinitely, to trade-off environmental integrity for material gains. Our choices have created deserts, waterways incapable of supporting life, soils leached of fertility, climate change driving weather events of such severity and frequency that whole towns, suburbs and agricultural landscapes are fast becoming uninsurable." Ken Henry
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/28/nature-protection-laws-australia-acknowledges-environment-underpins-all
#Environment #EPBCAct #biodiversity #conservation #Australia

Inside the 72-hour rush that ended the long fight to fix Australia’s nature protection laws https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/nov/27/inside-the-72-hour-rush-that-ended-the-long-fight-to-fix-australia-nature-protection-laws #auspol #EPBCAct #nature #biodiversity

“Fracking
undoubtedly poses a major risk to this huge, quite incredible aquifer that many Aboriginal communities and pastoralists rely on. Unbelievably there has never, ever been a referral of fracking in the Northern Territory … under the EPBC Act.”
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/nov/27/santos-gas-plan-beetaloo-basin-northern-territory-fracking-fears
#water #FossilFuels #extractivism #EPBCAct #Beetaloo

A ‘one-time’ offer to fix nature "rammed through"
"Will the new legislation stem the damage to nature?"
>>
https://theconversation.com/long-sought-environmental-law-reform-is-finally-here-but-will-the-compromise-deal-actually-protect-nature-270775
#biodiversity #EPBCAct #climate #fossilFuels #loggingimpacts #extractivism #water #Australia

Labor strikes deal with Greens to pass long-awaited overhaul of nature protection laws https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/nov/27/labor-strikes-deal-with-greens-to-pass-long-awaited-overhaul-of-nature-protection-laws

The deal to re-write the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act marks an end to a five-year struggle to fix the broken system

#EPBCAct #biodiversity #conservation #climate? #auslaw #auspol

The federal environmental protection laws - fixing a broken system?

"The Greens have agreed to support Labor’s re-write of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act after securing further concessions from the government amid tense and prolonged negotiations...The deal will clear the path for Labor to ram the legislation through the Senate on Thursday..."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/nov/27/australia-politics-live-barnaby-joyce-one-nation-pauline-hanson-environment-nature-bill-deal-coalition-greens-murray-watt-question-time-anthony-albanese-sussan-ley-ntwnfb
#biodiversity #climate #FossilFuels #extractivism #environment #EPBCAct #water #FastTrackApprovals #loggingimpacts

The Group of Eight (Go8) Australia, which represents the nation's leading universities, was among 26 industry groups that wrote a letter to the federal government last month, seeking to weaken environmental protections in a bill currently before parliament. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-26/group-of-eight-go8-universities-environment-legislation/106056594 #EPBCAct #GroupofEight #education #SDGs #auspol #auslaw #biodiversity #sustainability

Exchange rates for different forms of environmental destruction:

From ‘net zero’ to ‘net gain’. The platypus-to-possum exchange rate
"Net gain’ allows/requires the use of offsets that are not like-for-like: I can destroy some platypus habitat if someone else protects some possum habitat."

"A bureaucrat is literally going to have to develop the platypus-to-possum exchange rate. I am not kidding; a bureaucrat is going to have to develop exchange rates for different forms of environmental destruction."
>>
https://michaelwest.com.au/from-net-zero-to-net-gain-the-platypus-to-possum-exchange-rate/
#Environment #biodiversity #BeanCounterEcology #offsets #EPBCAct #governance #destruction
The endangered Southern Pink Underwing Moth, Mural, Bellingen

The destruction of native forests

"The independent review of the EPBC Act, conducted by Graeme Samuel in 2020, described the exemption for RFAs from federal environment laws as an untenable "loophole". The Greens, who have been demanding a complete ban on native forest logging, want to end the exemption of RFAs from the EPBC Act immediately. Changes to the EPBC Act will be before the Senate on Wednesday..."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-23/labor-greens-deal-on-environment-laws-native-forests/106040766
#biodiversity #EPBCAct #NativeForests #RFAs #degradation #FossilFuels #NSWLogging #BellingenLogging

Are CSIRO’s sweeping job cuts a sign Australia doesn’t care about the extinction crisis?

Cuts to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation include:
"climate intelligence and advice; unlocking net zero; waste; and valuing and restoring biodiversity, nature and healthy ecosystems."

“… The direction appears to be, at the moment, that we are prepared to drop the ball on our extinction crisis, our global leadership in biodiversity science or in Southern Ocean science.”
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/nov/21/csiro-job-cuts-australia-extinction-crisis
#science #research #ClimateCrisis #BiodiversityCrisis #Extinction #EPBCAct #PublicGood #CSIRO #climate #FossilFuels #Australia #VibeShift

Environmental reform - The EPBC negotiations

"They can continue to work to appease the big business and big mining and logging companies with the Coalition, or they can work with the Greens to put in place legislation and laws that actually protect our environment, protect our forests and our climate." >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-18/business-groups-epbc-work-together-on-environmental-reform/106020174
#EPBCAct #conservation #extractivism #law

Biodiversity offsets failed to protect habitat in NSW.
Now federal Labor is about to make the same mistakes, critics warn

"Offsets were meant to be a last resort for mitigating environmental damage from development projects, but rapidly became the default. An auditor general report found the government had no strategy for ensuring the offset market delivered the required environmental outcomes."

"In plain terms, development was occurring that harmed nature, money was accumulating in the fund because there were not enough offsets to compensate for that harm and species were being pushed closer to extinction."

“Turning offsets into an easy payment option flips the whole logic of environmental protection on its head."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/15/biodiversity-offset-scheme-nsw-australia-failing-nature-protection
#biodiversity #uniqueness #conservation #offsets #markets #GreenCapitalism #RestorationContributions #ecosystem #destruction #harm #NSW #governance #regulation #BeanCounterEcology #failure #BAU #EPBCAct #extinction

NSW Forestry born-again as eco-forestry looking for new markets

"The forestry industry in northern NSW is considering new financial opportunities in eco-forestry and environmental markets."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-16/great-koala-national-park-forestry-future-carbon-market/105954932
#Biodiversity #wildlife #NSWLogging #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #LoggingIndustry #MidNorthCoast #GKNP #KoalaTouristPark #firebreaks #LoggingAndLandclearing #extractivism #MinisterialDiscretion #EPBCAct

Image: The Bongil Bongil National Park has been included in the new Great Koala National Park, but the logging monster is always lurking... (Art by 'Danka')

Australia's new national environmental standards

"Former ACCC chair condemns proposed exemption allowing minister to approve projects that don’t comply with law. Samuel, who led a 2020 review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, also argued a loophole that effectively exempts native forest logging from the laws “shouldn’t be there”.

“Logging operations should be subject to the same rules as mining, agriculture, urban development and so on." >>
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/14/graeme-samuel-calls-for-labor-to-ditch-national-interest-workaround-for-environment-laws

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act)
The problem of ministerial discretion and “national interest” exemptions. >>
https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/115528660854362227

Authoritarianism—but make it look like the rule of law. >>
https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/115528971744822369

#EPBCAct #biodiversity #NationalInterest #law #exemption #MinisterialDiscretion #FastTrackApprovals #VestedInterest #ParliamentaryScrutiny #EnvironmentalLaw #conservation #regulation #governance #democracy #NSWLogging #landclearing #DualState #lawlessness #authoritarianism #LawGuardrails #normalcy #EmergencyPowers #NationalInterest #legitimisation #exemption #constitution #state #governance #LoggingImpacts

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act)
The problem of ministerial discretion and “national interest” exemptions.

" ‘Serious gaps’ in Labor’s environment laws undermine attempt to fix broken system, integrity experts say. Political integrity experts have raised concerns about Labor’s proposed new nature laws, including a contentious new “national interest” exemption...Despite the claims to a limited application, the centre holds grave concerns about the scope, transparency, and accountability of the exercise of the discretion. The centre’s report said it was “highly unusual” for an independent regulator to cede such “significant powers” to a minister." Environmental decision making is especially prone to capture by vested interests – that’s why integrity safeguards must be strong. "
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/nov/04/highly-unusual-exemption-in-labors-environment-laws-open-to-interference-integrity-experts-say

"Will Labor’s environment laws actually address Australia’s biodiversity crisis? Five reasons to be concerned. Experts say the proposed legislation is full of problems, including excessive ministerial discretion and relaxing like-for-like offset rules." >>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/nov/08/labor-environment-laws-australia-biodiversity-crisis-five-reasons-concerned

Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act and excessive ministerial power
"In his 2020 review of the EPBC Act, Graeme Samuel, the former chief of the competition watchdog, said the “unfettered discretion” granted to ministers to interpret the laws was a major problem that had led to poor outcomes for Australia’s environment." >>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/nov/08/labor-environment-laws-australia-biodiversity-crisis-five-reasons-concerned
#EPBCAct #biodiversity #NationalInterest #exemption #MinisterialDiscretion #FastTrackApprovals #VestedInterest #ParliamentaryScrutiny #EnvironmentalLaw #conservation #regulation #governance #democracy