2021-02-11
The Greens have today introduced new laws to stop land clearing of critical habitat and save our koalas.
The legislative move would prevent the Federal Environment Minister from approving new mines or developments in koala habitat.
Greens Environment Spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:
“Koalas are a national treasure and yet the Environment Minister is not just failing to save them but she continuously signs their death warrant.
“Unless habitat clearing is stopped, koalas will soon be extinct.
“It’s clear our existing environmental laws will not save the koala.
“Just last week the review into our environment laws declared them a failure and said to ignore fundamental reform would be to accept the continued decline of our iconic places and the extinction of our most threatened plants, animals and ecosystems.
“Off the back of the worst bushfires in history which killed a third of NSW’s koala population and destroyed millions of hectares of habitat across the country, no approvals for developments or logging on koala land should be given.
“But in 2020 the Environment Minister approved the clearing of 52ha of koala habitat at Port Stephens for a cement quarry, 100ha of koala habitat at Narrabri for gas wells, and 5500ha of koala habitat in Queensland for a coal mine.
“The Environment Minister has one job and she’s failing. The Morrison Government cannot be trusted to protect koalas so the Parliament must.
“Australia has a shameful record in extinction and without urgent action we will have killed off the koala too and that will be an international shame.
“Australians don’t want the only koalas we have left to be in zoos.”