The health of Australia’s environment is poor and has deteriorated over the past five years due to pressures of climate change, habitat loss, invasive species, pollution and mining.
The state of the environment report found abrupt changes in some Australian ecosystems over the past five years, with at least 19 now showing signs of collapse or near collapse.
93% of terrestrial habitat used by threatened species, and cleared between 2000 and 2017, was not referred to the federal government for assessment under national laws.
The cumulative effects of developments across a landscape are largely ignored during the approvals process.
Australia is a true laggard on environmental spending. Current expenditure is just 15% of what’s needed to avoid extinctions and recover threatened species.
Biodiversity offsets are supposed to prevent net loss of habitats or populations of a particular species. This almost never happens.
A string of reviews have shown Australia’s record on monitoring species recovery and environmental remediation is woeful.
Australia’s political donations system lacks transparency. But from what we do know, the donations often buy companies access to politicians and influence over the political process, including environmental decisions on developments.