'New landclearing laws won't keep bulldozers at bay in Australia'

New tree clearing laws introduced in Queensland today will do little to stop greenhouse gas emissions or the continued destruction of endangered ecosystems and vulnerable landscapes, a coalition of the state's leading conservation organisations said.

WWF-Australia, the Queensland Conservation Council, Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland and The Wilderness Society have joined together to express their disappointment over the announcement of new laws to control the clearing of young forests, also known as regenerating vegetation or regrowth.

"The government has missed a real opportunity to protect the state's endangered species and lands which are vulnerable to degradation," said WWF-Australia’s Rangelands Programme Leader Nick Heath on behalf of the group.

"Each year Queensland continues to destroy more habitat through landclearing than the rest of Australia combined. Unsustainable levels of clearing in the past killed an estimated two million mammals in Queensland each year - including 9,000 koalas, millions of birds and 70 million reptiles - burnt or starved to death through clearing. The new arrangements fail to create sufficient incentive for protecting our precious bushland."

Heath said the new laws would only protect some 800,000 ha of new land, or less than three per cent of Queensland's 27 million hectares of pastoral regrowth vegetation.

This means Queensland's current clearing rates of more than 100,000 ha per annum - the equivalent of more than 1.3 million suburban blocks - will only be reduced by 5 per cent.

Around 90 per cent of current clearing is done on behalf of the beef industry.
"Today's announcement ensures Queensland remains the bulldozer capital of Australia," Heath said. "We can and must do much better."

Landclearing in Queensland contributes 8.3 per cent of all national greenhouse gas emissions, according to 2007 statistics.

The coalition of conservation groups expects landclearing to re-emerge as a key policy issue after the adoption of an Emissions Trading Scheme, as governments and businesses aim to reduce carbon emissions and seek 'green carbon' economic opportunities.

"The Queensland Government still has a long way to go on these issues," Heath said.

"We look forward to working with the Premier in the new year and beyond to further cut the devastating rate of clearing and greenhouse gas emissions in Queensland for the good of wildlife, biodiversity, our vulnerable landscapes and the future of the planet."