Our environmental protection laws are under threat

The recent bushfire crisis has devastated Australia's native animal population. A total of 19 mammals, 13 birds, 20 reptiles, 17 frogs, five invertebrates, 22 crayfish and 17 fish species have been identified as at risk, with at least 30% of their range destroyed.¹ In NSW alone, more than one billion animals and hundreds of billions of insects have been killed. "For some species we're looking at imminent extinction", says ecologist Chris Dickman from the University of Sydney.² The scale of the disaster is unprecedented, which is why it has never been more important that our environmental laws are strong.

References:
[1] 'Expert panel says 113 species need urgent attention after Australia's bushfires', The Guardian, 11 February 2020
[2] 'NSW bushfires lead to deaths of over a billion animals and 'hundreds of billions' of insects, experts say', ABC, 9 January 2020

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) is the key piece of environmental legislation in Australia. It regulates any activity that will have an impact on environmental values, including protection of native flora and fauna species, world heritage areas, national and marine parks, and water resources.

Source: The EPBC Act Review 2020, Environmental Defenders Office

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) is currently undergoing its 10-year statutory review into how effectively it has been operating and whether it requires any changes. The review was initially created due to environment laws being too weak to provide adequate protection for Australian wildlife, leading to an extraordinarily high extinction rate. Too many development projects were being approved and having adverse consequences on particular species and ecosystems. Submissions to the review have recently closed, and the first draft of the report will be handed down in June, 2020. The final draft will be released in October, 2020, with initial report due mid-late June 2020.

The Government recently announced it would look into changing the EPBC before the final report is released. Brendan Sydes, the Chief Executive of Environmental Justice Australia, raised concerns about what these potential changes might mean, stating "we really need to have a focus on the objectives the act is attempting to achieve, rather than streamlining and processes."² It is important the proper review process is followed so that any changes are in line with the recommendations in the final report – or we risk our environmental laws being weakened.

References:
[1] The EPBC Act Review 2020, Environmental Defenders Office
[2] 'Coalition is aiming to change Australia's environment laws before review is finished', The Guardian, 23 April 2020

The EPBC does not adequately protect Australia's endangered species. Australia currently has a high rate of extinction, including the highest rate of mammal extinction in the world. More than 50 animal and 60 plant species have gone extinct in the past 200 years, and the EPBC has not done enough to address it.

Source: 'Coalition is aiming to change Australia's environment laws before review is finished', The Guardian, 23 April 2020