You demanded better environmental protection for Australian animals
News
You stood side by side with native animals by supporting our submission to strengthen the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). Thank you.
We’ve submitted the document to the Government for review and are pleased to announce that more than 14,000 people added their name to demand better protection for Australian animals.
With the recent bushfire emergency killing more than one billion animals, the vulnerability of our native wildlife and their habitats has been highlighted like never before. However, the damage caused by the fires is only one challenge. Widespread land clearing and habitat destruction represent a huge, ongoing threat to Australian animals.
What is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)?
The EPBC Act is meant to provide a framework for protecting the Australian environment. It also provides for the issuing of approvals for a variety of activities on Commonwealth land including land clearing, farming, mining and development.
But it’s not working. Almost all projects (99.7%) assessed by the Federal Government get rubber-stamped.
Why did we act to improve the EPBC Act?
Strong environmental laws are critical to the survival of Australian animals. Without robust environmental laws, vital natural habitats will continue to be lost or damaged, vulnerable animal and plant species will become extinct at an increasing rate, and Australia’s unique biodiversity will be put at grave risk.
It is clear that our environmental laws aren’t doing enough to ensure animals and their habitats are protected. This makes them even more vulnerable when disasters such as the recent bushfires strike. That’s why we needed to take a stand.
Current laws have failed across a raft of issues including species extinction, deforestation, water pollution and misuse, and the single most challenging issue of our time, climate change.
Australia’s precious animals, forests and rivers have never been more at risk from these threats. Extinction is forever. Iconic Australian animals, like koalas and many other species, need you to take a stand and demand better environmental protection today!
We’ve submitted the document to the Government for review and are pleased to announce that 11,765 people added their name to demand better protection for Australian animals.