According to new analysis by the Australia Conservation Foundation (ACF), 25,769 hectares of threatened species habitat was approved for destruction by the federal government in 2024, more than twice as much as the previous year, the equivalent of 92 Sydney CBDs.
ACF’s annual Extinction Wrapped analysis uncovered that of all threatened species’ habitats, koala habitat saw the most approvals for clearing, tripling from 2023 levels to a total of 3,003 hectares, the equivalent of three Sydney Airports. Koalas are on the endangered list and are recognised as being on a pathway to extinction by 2050 with habitat destruction the greatest threat to the species.
Koalas have now made it onto the threatened species list, with koala numbers in NSW declining by 50% over the past two decades | Photo by ACF
Other animals affected by habitat destruction include the Pilbara Leaf Nosed-bat, the endangered Northern quoll, and the Superb parrot. ACF reported that another 42 species, including ecosystems, were added to the threatened list in 2024, while a further 14 species moved towards a category closer to extinction. However, five species were ‘downlisted’, moving further away from extinction.
‘There are now 2,245 Australian ecosystems, plants and animals recognised nationally as being threatened with extinction’, said ACF nature campaigner, Darcie Carruthers. ‘Every day and every decision matters for our wildlife.’
ACF found that land clearing approvals are mostly for agricultural purposes (mainly beef), mining, and infrastructure projects, like an inland rail project in NSW. Almost half the koala habitat earmarked to be lost is for this rail project.
Labor Defends its Decisions
The ACF also reported that ten new or expanded fossil fuel projects were approved, and no fossil fuel projects were rejected in 2024. In a statement to The Guardian, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, defended the decisions made by Labor, citing the government’s moves to protect an additional 70 million hectares of ocean and bush from development and its $550m investment to protect threatened plants and animals.
‘After a decade of neglect under the Liberals, Labor is doing more than ever to better protect nature and our threatened plants and animals’, Minister Plibersek told The Guardian.
The ACF is calling for a federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to replace current nature laws. The federal EPA was close to passing stronger nature protection laws as parliament finished up at the end of 2024, however, due to lobbying by the mining industry and WA Government, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shelved the plan.
‘The national laws that are meant to protect nature are failing miserably. Without the full reform of Australia’s unfit-for-purpose nature law – and with no sign of an independent agency to enforce the law – more and more unique plants and animals face extinction’, said Mr Carruthers.
Feature photo by Fairy Duff on Flickr | Licence
