endangered species

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek鈥檚 new threatened species action plan does not go far enough, argues Greens聽Senator Janet Rice.

Nature Conservation Council CEO Jacqui Mumford said while the federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek鈥檚 promise to halt extinctions is an 鈥渆ncouraging step鈥, more needs to be done. Kerry Smith reports.

You may remember the joy of spotting a favourite animal or plant at a place you would infrequently visit. When, the next time you visited, they had disappeared, you鈥檇 come up with a banal explanation that never included extinction. But now a United Nations report says that unless there is a change in approach, we will lose 1 million species forever.

Scientists and conservationists have called on the federal government to strengthen Australia鈥檚 national environment laws, chiefly the .

The Wilderness Society has denounced the NSW government's draft nature laws as a farce that will allow koalas' homes to be bulldozed while adding to our greenhouse gas emissions. NSW Premier Mike Baird promised that any law changes would enhance 鈥渢he state's biodiversity for the benefit of current and future generations鈥 but the draft conservation laws are full of exemptions that will allow huge tracts of habitat to be cleared, including habitat for endangered species such as the koala.