The government's spending on harming nature

"For the first time, research published this year, identified 36 federal subsidies worth $26.3 billion annually that are potentially harmful to biodiversity. Fossil fuel subsidies alone account for $14.1 billion. It is extraordinary the Australian Government believes it can exclude fossil fuel subsidies on the basis of a technicality. Meanwhile, independent estimates place federal biodiversity conservation spending at below $1 billion annually. "

"The arithmetic is stark: the government spent more than $26 billion a year on harming nature, less than $1 billion conserving it. No government serious about halting biodiversity loss would preside over such an imbalance and say they were “on track”. >>
https://theconversation.com/australia-claims-it-is-on-track-to-save-nature-we-disagree-278081

Biodiversity-harmful subsidies in Australia
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14486563.2026.2623910
#FossilFuels #FossilFuelsSubsidies #biodiversity #harm #conservation #KMGBF #restoration #NoTake #fishing #ThreatenedSpecies #Australia #MarineLife #degradation #EPBCAct #war #climate #pollution #governance #values

Australia claims it is ‘on track’ to save nature. We disagree

"Ecosystems are being left to degrade, rare and precious species are sliding toward extinction, and billions of dollars are being used to quietly fund subsidies, including for fossil fuels, which contribute to the very destruction the government claims to be fixing."

"Australia already holds the world’s worst record for modern mammal extinctions – 38 species lost since colonisation, more than any other country. Against that grim inheritance, having no further extinctions (that we know about) is a remarkably low bar."

1. Restoration: not enough done, and the report knows it
2. Protected areas: national figures mask failures
3. Threatened species: declining, not recovering
4. Harmful fossil fuel subsidies hidden, conservation spending inflated

"This new report confirms those weaknesses extend to Australia’s self-assessment, which lacks the rigour and ambition the nature crisis demands.The reforms of Australia’s nature laws, passed in late 2025, are the most significant in a generation, and we welcome them. But legislation without implementation, adequate funding or a delivery plan is not enough."

"This important report – with its hidden subsidies, inflated spending figures, missing implementation plan, and a definition of “on track” that mistakes promises for progress – is not worthy of a nation with both the means and the obligation to lead." >>
https://theconversation.com/australia-claims-it-is-on-track-to-save-nature-we-disagree-278081
#biodiversity #conservation #KMGBF #restoration #NoTake #fishing #ThreatenedSpecies #FossilFuels #FossilFuelsSubsidies #Australia #MarineLife #degradation #EPBCAct

Fishing in protected sanctuary zone called an 'oopsie' not a crime - if you are a premier

SA Premier Peter Malinauskas during the trip in waters near the Port Noarlunga jetty. A boat trip organised for an SA Labor election announcement ventured into waters protected by sanctuary zones, RecFish SA says. "Bit of an oversight, oopsie, but it is what it is."
"Sanctuary zones are 'no take' areas, meaning you can't collect, fish or use fishing gear in them," the National Parks and Wildlife Service website states. >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-08/sa-election-campaign-boat-trip-blunder-in-sanctuary-zone/106429676
#fishing #crime #NoTake #conservation

Critically endangered scalloped hammerheads gather in seas off Perth. They need protection

"We need a code of conduct to prevent water users such as boaters, kayakers, and swimmers from disturbing the animals, similar to those protecting whale sharks and humpback whales. Boat speed limits and bans on chasing animals are essential if we are to protect these endangered animals.

"Stopping fishing at the aggregation site is vitally important. Hammerheads are extremely vulnerable to any capture and are unlikely to survive “catch and release” fishing. The marine park should be a safe spot for the sharks to shelter and rest."

"We need to strengthen protections in the marine park, shifting from multiple use status – which allows fishing – to highly protected, which prohibits fishing."
>>
https://theconversation.com/critically-endangered-scalloped-hammerheads-gather-in-seas-off-perth-they-need-protection-213258
#sharks #whales #fishing #FossilFuel #boats #vessels #speed #encroachment #marine #wildlife #regulation #NoTake #Conservation