Northern Australia is extraordinary, and it’s under severe threat

It never ceases to amaze me that one can board a plane in wintery and bustling Melbourne, my home, and in a few hours, you are transported to a very different world, yet one that still exists within this same vast, ancient continent that we share.

The increased heat and humidity hit you first, but it’s the sheer beauty and majesty of the wildlife and landscapes, and rich culture of the region, that truly affect you, and in my experience, never leave you. Northern Australia is extraordinary, and it’s under severe threat.

Due to the tyranny of distance—many thousands of kilometres between our northern and southern cities—it’s a world that’s often out of sight and mind for millions of Australians, and importantly and regularly, much of the mainstream media.

Right now, this region, is under siege, in large part due to insatiable corporate and government desires to ‘develop’ the North. Of course, if those planning this economic development blitzkrieg were to sit down, speak with and listen to First Nationals peoples, many would tell them it’s already developed and has served their needs perfectly for millennia via a harmonious and carefully managed socio-cultural ecological system.

Now, massive petrochemical and gas production development projects—including Barossa, Beetaloo, and Middle Arm—are planned. So too is a greatly expanded cotton industry. These pressures come at a time when environmental laws are exceedingly weak, and those that do exist are often not enforced. In the Northern Territory (N.T.), an estimated 45,000 hectares of savanna habitat, 22,500 Melbourne Cricket Grounds, was destroyed between 2000 and 2020.

In some cases, centuries-old trees, homes for threatened native species like the black-footed tree rat, red goshawk, and vibrantly coloured Gouldian finch, are felled and destroyed by dozers and chains. Rivers and waterways, and their inhabitants including pig-nosed turtles, sawfish, and the much-prized barramundi, are no safer. They face increased erosion, siltation and pollution from adjacent land clearing and their homes shrinking, through massive increases in water extraction licences.

At the same time, the reform package of long-awaited national environmental laws, the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999—recently introduced to federal parliament—isn’t shaping up to deliver the essential changes suggested by experts and extensive reviews either.

Concerns for the North span the iconic Cape York Peninsula, and Kimberley regions, but are arguably most worrying in the N.T.’s Top End. The N.T. government have passed the Territory Coordinator Bill and the Petroleum, Planning and Water Amendment Bill – laws that together pave the way for rapid development approvals and vital checks and balances to be overridden. They will also make it far harder for communities to legally challenge decisions. All against a backdrop of serious governance concerns, including those raised about the conduct of NT Environment Protection Authority Chair, Paul Vogel.

Federally, the LNP have abandoned net zero by 2050, and the federal government recently released its timid 2035 emissions reduction target and sobering climate risk assessment.

Large parts of Northern Australia are now firmly on a path to being uninhabitable for people before the end of this century, with similar or even more dire predictions for wildlife and ecosystems already showing signs of severe strain and risk of collapse.

For perspective, using the current trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions, by 2050, Darwin residents can expect to swelter for over a third of the year with temperatures above 35°C, an increase of 92 days. Further inland, the predictions are even more diabolical and life threatening. Current climate and environmental policy in Australia is sacrificing the safety and survival of communities for corporate profits, companies making billions and paying little to no tax.

There is a better way, of course. A declaration was prepared at September’s inaugural Australia’s Great North Conference in Garamilla/Darwin. It charts a vision of a brighter, safer, more sustainable, resilient and shared future. A future where First Nations leadership and self-determination are central.

“The future of Australia will be decided in its Great North. Let’s shape it together—with wisdom, care, and the courage to imagine something better.”

– Australia’s Great North Conference Declaration 2025

Protecting the North is essential for Australia to meet international and national climate and conservation targets and ambitions. But more importantly, it’s about exercising deep love and care for what’s irreplaceable. And, a thriving economy is reliant on a healthy environment.

I was born in and now again reside in Melbourne, but I was lucky to spend 15 wonderful years living and working in the North. It is a part of my heart and soul. I urge our political leaders to not repeat the mistakes and harms of the South being inflicted upon the North.

Surveys show Australians overwhelming want greater protection and care for the places and wildlife they love, it is the role of governments to honour this.

Euan Ritchie is a Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at Deakin University, President of the Australian Mammal Society, Councillor within the Biodiversity Council, and science communicator.