Answer: 5. You did them all!

Thank you for helping to protect Australia’s world-class environment.

This past year we:

1. Helped protect 9 million ha of the Earth’s last free-flowing desert rivers from oil and gas mining in Queensland’s Channel Country

On 22 December, the Queensland government announced protections for the Channel Country. It announced it would expand protections over the rivers and floodplains and ban new oil and gas on these sensitive areas.

This is a HUGE win for communities, nature and the climate.

Throughout 2022 and 2023, thousands of us made sure the government gave Queenslanders a fair say on protecting Channel Country rivers and floodplains from oil and gas. Together, we pressured the government to release a key report on the future of the Channel Country that outlined options for how it could protect this globally significant place.

Then alongside our partners in the movement, the Wilderness Society mobilised around 20,000 people like you to make sure the government heard that the Channel Country rivers and floodplains deserve the strongest protections.

For years, Traditional Owners, Channel Country landholders, scientists and environmentalists have been calling on the government to protect these globally significant river systems from the disastrous impacts of oil and gas developments.

While we’re excited for these protections to be implemented in the coming months, there’s still work to do to ensure they remain on the Queensland government's priority list.

2. Welcomed the Victorian government’s announcement it will abandon the dodgy logging deals called RFAs by the end of the year

Just three days after Christmas, the Victorian state government announced it will no longer continue with the dodgy logging deals called Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs). This was a very welcome development because for too long, under these RFAs, the native forest logging sector has been exempt from national environment law.

This news came after the government wound up VicForests following two decades of over-logging and mismanagement. Together we now need to secure better outcomes for Victoria's native forests in line with Traditional Owner rights and aspirations.

3. Targeted six MPs to build even more pressure for strong new nature laws through billboards and phenomenally well-attended community forums

In Perth last month, Labor MP Patrick Gorman refused to meet with members of the community demanding strong new nature laws. So we joined with other local groups to stage a community demonstration outside his office, backed by billboards. This then led to a local newspaper reporting on the protest and further amplifying our voice and concerns.

More than 500 people chipped in to get billboards up in target electorates around the country that are held by ALP parliamentarians who could be strong voices for nature inside government.

In Sydney, our mobile billboard for MP Matt Thistlethwaite stopped by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s office as well.

At our Macnamara community forum in Melbourne, which MP Josh Burns attended, we put a photo of the billboard on the projector. Biodiversity Policy & Campaign Manager Sam Szoke-Burke urged him to represent the community’s concerns. Mr Burns couldn’t turn away from the community’s pressure—he even noted that the billboard is on a corner that he regularly spends time on, showing that with your help we got the ad just right.

Because of you, MPs in six target electorates can’t ignore that Australians want laws that protect the places we love.

4. Exposed 129,110ha of forest, bushland and savanna destruction through our citizen-science app Watch on Nature

Our web-based satellite monitoring program, Watch on Nature, is so effective at detecting deforestation as it happens across the country that many other organisations are now using the platform!

Victoria National Parks Association, Environs Kimberley, Pew Charitable Trusts, Environment Centre Northern Territory (ECNT), as well as some Traditional Owner groups, have all taken up this powerful tool—and there is real strength in numbers when it comes to monitoring and reporting on forest destruction. Thanks to your support, 129,110ha of deforestation has been detected.

It’s clear that this platform is having real-world impact.