A group of prominent environmental scientists devised this list of 5 things we must see in Australia’s new national environmental laws, if we are to avoid calamity and hasten recovery.
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Articles on environment laws
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Australia’s environment does not have sufficient legal protection from climate change, as outlined in a new report from the Climate Council Australia.
Australia’s environment law needs a comprehensive overhaul – not the politically motivated tinkering delivered on Tuesday night.
The Federal Court has essentially said it can’t act. But the decision certainly doesn’t mean the government can’t act. In fact, that’s exactly who the judges indicated must.
New research finds the last 250 years has seen more than 100 million hectares of bird habitat destroyed on mainland Australia – that’s 15% of Australia’s landmass.
Urban ecosystem services sustain life but aren’t well protected.
As ecologists, we’ve seen first-hand how Australia’s nature laws have permitted environmental degradation and destruction to the point of extinction.
You could hardly imagine a worse report on the state of Australia’s environment, and the law’s capacity to protect it, than that released on Thursday.
The Brandy Hill Quarry expansion was approved under the weak environment laws of NSW. Now, the federal government must decide if it will proceed. The fate of many koalas is in Sussan Ley’s hands.
The proposed changes to be introduced to Parliament in August may ultimately damage the natural places they’re designed to protect.
As a former environment official, I’ve been involved with the EPBC Act for more than 20 years. But I was still shocked by the scathing report card.
New research reveals how governments ignored decades’ worth of scientific advice on how the Adani mine threatened to damage precious water supplies.
Politicians and the media often stoke tensions between the city and the country. Nowhere is this more common than on the issue of land clearing – and the consequences can be tragic.
Environment Minister Sussan Ley has announced a review of Australia’s nature laws. The poor state of our biodiversity shows we must do a better job of protecting the places we love.
A staggering 7.7 million hectares of critical habitat has been destroyed since environment laws were enacted - and 93% was not referred to the federal government for assessment.
The ‘thin green line’ of resistance against any new infrastructure for shipping oil, gas and coal abroad has won many battles.
Much of the devastation of our globe’s natural resources traces its origins to early colonialism. These relationships continue to define the extraction of resources that severely impact ecosystems.
For more than 30 years, Environmental Defenders Offices around the country have worked to help people take legal action on environmental issues. They’ve notched some big wins along the way.
Australia’s federal environment laws are inadequate to halt Australia’s alarming rates of land clearing and species loss. A more robust set of laws are urgently needed.
Top contributors
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Honorary Associate Professor, ANU College of Law, Australian National University
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Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University
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Lecturer, The University of Queensland
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Postdoctoral research fellow, The University of Queensland
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Professor, Deakin Law School, Deakin University
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Adjunct senior lecturer, The University of Queensland
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Professor, The University of Queensland
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Professor of Environmental Law, University of Tasmania
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Senior Lecturer, Public Sector Management, UNSW Sydney
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Professor, The University of Queensland
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Professor of Ecology, The University of Queensland
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Professor in Terrestrial Ecology, Deakin University
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Associate Professor in Law, UNSW Sydney
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Professor of Environmental Management, The University of Queensland
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Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of the Environment, The University of Queensland
