Environment & Biodiversity

• OPINION

  Australia shouldn't have to choose between protecting forests and the climate

  Kate Dooley

  Saving forests and saving the climate were never competing goals, and the federal government has already committed to both. As Australia steps onto the international stage to lead the global climate negotiations this year, it must honour those commitments rather than set a dangerous precedent for forest protection.

  

  ClimateEnvironment & Biodiversity

  

• OPINION

  Australia has already run the experiment of underfunding fire ant eradication – and it failed. We should not repeat the same mistake in 2027

  Reece Pianta

  Experts warned governments the national fire ant eradication program needed at least $200m a year to stay ahead of the invasion. Governments chose to spend around $60 million instead. Funding gaps turned a manageable biosecurity challenge into a crisis we are still paying for.

  

  Environment & Biodiversity

  

• OPINION

  Bird flu is exposing a dangerous flaw in Australia's conservation model

  Rob Brewster

  Real resilience requires a different shape of thinking: not ‘each sanctuary for itself’, but a connected system that spreads risk across the broadest possible geographic range. In the bird flu era, survival depends on turning individual sanctuaries into an intentionally linked network that shares the job of keeping a species alive.

  

  Environment & Biodiversity

  

• WHAT'S NEW

  Historic environmental alliance challenges use of native forests in Australia's carbon market

  By Tegan George

  Australia’s biggest conservation organisations have united behind a call to end native forest logging, arguing governments should protect forests for their environmental value rather than use them to offset fossil fuel emissions. 

  ClimateEnvironment & Biodiversity

  

• OPINION

  The $200 million Cliff Head collapse: Why Big Oil needs to pay clean-up bonds up front

  Amanda Holly

  The inevitable collapse of Pilot Energy last week is a familiar story that leaves the fate of the $200 million clean up of the Cliff Head oil platform hanging in the balance. The Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King has now hurriedly threatened Australia’s remaining oil and gas industry with an emergency offshore clean-up levy - and rightly so. There is no way the Australian taxpayer should be left to pay for this mess.

  

  Environment & Biodiversity

  

• OPINION

  The Basin Plan is up for review – and water for the environment is as important as ever

  Julie Jones

  The Basin Plan was agreed in 2012 to manage unsustainable water extraction, but even with the Plan in place, the Coorong, Lower Lakes, and the Lower Murray were recently listed as critically endangered. That Plan is now up for review.

  

  Environment & Biodiversity

  

• OPINION

  Darwin residents want answers on toxic gas emissions. The science shows their concerns are warranted

  Melissa Haswell

  For years, Darwin residents have been concerned about toxic chemicals emitted by the city’s two gas export facilities. In fact, some locals are so worried about these airborne chemicals – particularly benzene – they recently formed a community group and launched a fundraiser to buy a regulation-grade mobile device for continuous monitoring.

  Environment & BiodiversityHealth

  

• VIDEO

  Koala Forest Offset Plan Would Mean More Fossil Fuels | Press Conference

  The Federal Government’s new carbon credits method for ‘protecting’ native forests will allow fossil fuel companies to greenwash their climate pollution.

  ClimateEnvironment & Biodiversity

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• OPINION

  Caught between worlds, I found belonging on Country – now that’s under threat

  Taigen Ryan

  When invasive species take over, they don’t just replace plants and animals; they alter ecosystems, change fire and weather patterns, wipe out native species, and transform landscapes that have been known and cared for, for tens of thousands of years. And culture goes with them.

  

  Environment & Biodiversity

  

• WHAT'S NEW

  Fire ants could kill thousands of Australian pets, report warns

  By Tegan George

  The Albanese government has been warned thousands of Australian pets could die and households risk facing more than $1 billion in annual costs unless it significantly boosts efforts to eradicate fire ants.

  Environment & BiodiversityEconomy