Media Releases - 21 August 2020

Queensland’s forests & bushland under threat, again.

  • Queensland’s deforestation laws are under threat.
  • Last time these laws were wound back in Queensland there was a four-fold increase in deforestation and tens of millions of animals were killed. 
  • Removing or weakening deforestation laws has disastrous consequences for the Great Barrier Reef, koalas and the climate .

Queensland’s deforestation laws are again under threat following an announcement from Opposition Leader, Deb Frecklington, to seemingly endorse lobby group Agforce’s bid to weaken vegetation management laws if elected in October1. 

“While we welcome any support for landscape restoration and the ruling out of a return to broadacre clearing, achieving this means all sides of politics must commit to maintaining and strengthening deforestation laws.”

In 2012, the LNP took the axe to these laws, resulting in a four-fold increase in deforestation during that time2. 

“It took years to get Queensland's deforestation laws back after they were weakened. In that time, the destruction of forest and bushland drove Eastern Australia on to the list of top 10 global deforestation hotspots3—the only developed country on the list”, said Mrs Gemma Plesman of the Wilderness Society.

Yesterday, the Australian Government released its 5 year update to the Reef 2050 Plan4, the official government effort to keep the Great Barrier Reef off the World Heritage In Danger List. This Plan, endorsed by Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley, lauded the current Queensland vegetation laws as a critical policy required to maintain the health of the Reef. 

“Any steps to unwind our forest and bushland protections will undoubtedly increase the risk to the Reef and compel the World Heritage Committee to reflect that in its assessment”, said Mrs Plesman. 

An estimated 44.7 million animals were killed due to deforestation from 2015-2016 in Queensland - a rate of one animal killed per second5. This includes the iconic koala, whose population has declined by over 43% in over 20 years (1990-2010), largely due to deforestation and land clearing6. 

“Removing or weakening Queensland’s current deforestation laws would kill tens of millions of native animals every year7, push koalas closer towards extinction, damage our Great Barrier Reef through sediment run-off and dramatically increase Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions”, said Mrs Plesman.

“Deforestation also has a double impact on climate change. Trees and soil release carbon and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as they are left to rot or burnt, and the trees can no longer draw down carbon pollution out of the atmosphere when they are gone.

“The evidence is clear that removing or weakening deforestation laws has disastrous consequences for wildlife, water, the Reef and the climate”, said Mrs Plesman. 

Over 1.6 million hectares of Queensland’s forest and bushland was cleared from 2013-20188—around the area of the Gabba stadium every 3 minutes.  

“We are calling for a commitment to maintaining strong deforestation laws to protect Queensland’s unique forest and bushland.” 

For further comment contact: Gemma Plesman, The Wilderness Society, on 0423 044 431

References: 

  1.  https://www.queenslandcountrylife.com.au/story/6886623/lnp-promises-new-landscape-approach
  2.  The 2010–11 clearing rate was 91,690 ha/year, compared with the latest data from the Queensland Government which was 392,000 ha/year for the period 2017-18. Qld DES, 2018, Land cover change in Queensland: Statewide Landcover and Trees Study Summary Report: 2016-17 and 2017-18; Qld DSITI
  3.  WWF-International, 2015. Living Forests Report (Chapter 5: Saving Forests at Risk). http://bit.ly/2y0YbsM 
  4.  Commonwealth of Australia, 2020. Reef 2050 Long-term sustainability plan - Public consultation draft August 2020. Available at:  https://haveyoursay.awe.gov.au/reef-2050-plan
  5.  WWF-Australia, 2017. Australian animals lost to bulldozers in Queensland: 2015-16 update. Available here: https://www.wwf.org.au/news/news/2017/tree-clearing-kills-68-million-animals-in-queensland-in-two-years#gs.dda2pr.
  6.  Department of the Environment and Energy, 2017.  Species Profile and Threats Database - koala (Online). http://bit.ly/SVOqGm.
  7.  WWF-Australia, 2017. Australian animals lost to bulldozers in Queensland: 2015-16 update. Available here: https://www.wwf.org.au/news/news/2017/tree-clearing-kills-68-million-animals-in-queensland-in-two-years#gs.dda2pr.
  8.  Qld DES, 2018, Land cover change in Queensland: Statewide Landcover and Trees Study Summary Report: 2016-17 and 2017-18; Qld DSITI, 2017, Land cover change in Queensland 2015-16: A Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS) report; Qld DSITI, 2016, Land cover change in Queensland 2014-15: A Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS) report; and Qld DSITI, 2015, Land cover change in Queensland 2012-13 and 2013-14: A Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS) report. All available at https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/land/management/mapping/statewide-monitoring/slats/slats-reports#slats-most-recent-reports