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- General
- The Advertiser
Cows versus koalas: land clearers dobbed in as 90,000ha of bush bulldozed
Up to 105 cases of land clearing, mainly for farming, could soon be under investigation by authorities after a citizen science project uncovered 90,000 hectares of bush bulldozed over the past five years. The mature native forest, some housing koalas, rock wallabies, glossy black and pink cockatoos, quolls, and gliders, was cleared across 176 properties around Australia. Most of the habitat was ripped up for farming - especially beef - a new report from the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has found. The environment group said it would refer more than half the cases - 105 - to federal and state investigators because the clearing was potentially illegal. The largest area cleared on a single property was 7000 hectares, but the average was about 500 hectares. "The habitat destruction is as varied as the Australian landscape is," ACF nature campaigner Nathaniel Pelle said. "We have seen everything from mallee - what people would see as desert-looking - scrub or forest from south-west NSW ... [to] incredibly rich, jungle-like rainforests." Mr Pelle said he visited one of the cleared northern NSW sites identified in the report. "If you walk through them, they are towering forests with trees in excess of 40 and 50 metres high," he said. "You would be in the rainforest, you would hear the call of whip birds around you." Just next door was a different story. "You can be standing in that forest and, across the fence, you can see piles of timber on fire and areas of pasture that would once have looked exactly like the rainforest ... before the bulldozers moved in." The environment group enlisted the help of 675 citizen scientists who pored over satellite images from 2023 and 2024 of four million hectares of Australia identified as likely to be cleared. "The vast majority of cases discovered were on agricultural properties (150 out of the 176) and the biggest driver of deforestation is livestock farming (at least 143 of 176 cases)," the report found. More than half the total area cleared was on beef farms. All the vegetation lost included trees older than 15 years, which was more likely to provide homes and habitat for wildlife like koalas, pink cockatoos and greater gliders, the report said. "Some of these examples of bulldozing could even have knocked down habitat for critically endangered species like the swift parrot, regent honeyeater, and bulloak jewel butterfly, as well as several critically endangered ecological communities," it said. Beef farmer Glenn Morris, from the NSW New England region, said farmers were not rewarded for looking after the land. "They've got a million things on every day ... they're incredibly hard working," he said. "Most farmers have got a good conscience and they'll look after forests and they'll look after trees." "Then there's the ones, they're just chasing that little extra bit of pasture." The outspoken climate activist said people working on the land should be at the forefront of conversations about how to better protect forest and water. "The forest is like a lake in the landscape," Mr Morris said. "So when we clear we're actually taking that water supply out of the landscape." Nathaniel Pelle from ACF said most farmers wanted to do the right thing, but national laws governing land clearing under the the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act were letting nature and threatened species down. "Only 2.5 per cent of all of the referrals ever made to the [federal] environment department have come on agricultural land, even though somewhere between 80 and 90 per cent of the clearing occurs on agricultural land," he said. "It's really the regulators that need to do a better job of making it clear to farmers that they need to obtain a federal approval." The report, Bulldozing the bush, was expected to be released on June 19. Up to 105 cases of land clearing, mainly for farming, could soon be under investigation by authorities after a citizen science project uncovered 90,000 hectares of bush bulldozed over the past five years. The mature native forest, some housing koalas, rock wallabies, glossy black and pink cockatoos, quolls, and gliders, was cleared across 176 properties around Australia. Most of the habitat was ripped up for farming - especially beef - a new report from the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has found. The environment group said it would refer more than half the cases - 105 - to federal and state investigators because the clearing was potentially illegal. The largest area cleared on a single property was 7000 hectares, but the average was about 500 hectares. "The habitat destruction is as varied as the Australian landscape is," ACF nature campaigner Nathaniel Pelle said. "We have seen everything from mallee - what people would see as desert-looking - scrub or forest from south-west NSW ... [to] incredibly rich, jungle-like rainforests." Mr Pelle said he visited one of the cleared northern NSW sites identified in the report. "If you walk through them, they are towering forests with trees in excess of 40 and 50 metres high," he said. "You would be in the rainforest, you would hear the call of whip birds around you." Just next door was a different story. "You can be standing in that forest and, across the fence, you can see piles of timber on fire and areas of pasture that would once have looked exactly like the rainforest ... before the bulldozers moved in." The environment group enlisted the help of 675 citizen scientists who pored over satellite images from 2023 and 2024 of four million hectares of Australia identified as likely to be cleared. "The vast majority of cases discovered were on agricultural properties (150 out of the 176) and the biggest driver of deforestation is livestock farming (at least 143 of 176 cases)," the report found. More than half the total area cleared was on beef farms. All the vegetation lost included trees older than 15 years, which was more likely to provide homes and habitat for wildlife like koalas, pink cockatoos and greater gliders, the report said. "Some of these examples of bulldozing could even have knocked down habitat for critically endangered species like the swift parrot, regent honeyeater, and bulloak jewel butterfly, as well as several critically endangered ecological communities," it said. Beef farmer Glenn Morris, from the NSW New England region, said farmers were not rewarded for looking after the land. "They've got a million things on every day ... they're incredibly hard working," he said. "Most farmers have got a good conscience and they'll look after forests and they'll look after trees." "Then there's the ones, they're just chasing that little extra bit of pasture." The outspoken climate activist said people working on the land should be at the forefront of conversations about how to better protect forest and water. "The forest is like a lake in the landscape," Mr Morris said. "So when we clear we're actually taking that water supply out of the landscape." Nathaniel Pelle from ACF said most farmers wanted to do the right thing, but national laws governing land clearing under the the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act were letting nature and threatened species down. "Only 2.5 per cent of all of the referrals ever made to the [federal] environment department have come on agricultural land, even though somewhere between 80 and 90 per cent of the clearing occurs on agricultural land," he said. "It's really the regulators that need to do a better job of making it clear to farmers that they need to obtain a federal approval." The report, Bulldozing the bush, was expected to be released on June 19. Up to 105 cases of land clearing, mainly for farming, could soon be under investigation by authorities after a citizen science project uncovered 90,000 hectares of bush bulldozed over the past five years. The mature native forest, some housing koalas, rock wallabies, glossy black and pink cockatoos, quolls, and gliders, was cleared across 176 properties around Australia. Most of the habitat was ripped up for farming - especially beef - a new report from the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has found. The environment group said it would refer more than half the cases - 105 - to federal and state investigators because the clearing was potentially illegal. The largest area cleared on a single property was 7000 hectares, but the average was about 500 hectares. "The habitat destruction is as varied as the Australian landscape is," ACF nature campaigner Nathaniel Pelle said. "We have seen everything from mallee - what people would see as desert-looking - scrub or forest from south-west NSW ... [to] incredibly rich, jungle-like rainforests." Mr Pelle said he visited one of the cleared northern NSW sites identified in the report. "If you walk through them, they are towering forests with trees in excess of 40 and 50 metres high," he said. "You would be in the rainforest, you would hear the call of whip birds around you." Just next door was a different story. "You can be standing in that forest and, across the fence, you can see piles of timber on fire and areas of pasture that would once have looked exactly like the rainforest ... before the bulldozers moved in." The environment group enlisted the help of 675 citizen scientists who pored over satellite images from 2023 and 2024 of four million hectares of Australia identified as likely to be cleared. "The vast majority of cases discovered were on agricultural properties (150 out of the 176) and the biggest driver of deforestation is livestock farming (at least 143 of 176 cases)," the report found. More than half the total area cleared was on beef farms. All the vegetation lost included trees older than 15 years, which was more likely to provide homes and habitat for wildlife like koalas, pink cockatoos and greater gliders, the report said. "Some of these examples of bulldozing could even have knocked down habitat for critically endangered species like the swift parrot, regent honeyeater, and bulloak jewel butterfly, as well as several critically endangered ecological communities," it said. Beef farmer Glenn Morris, from the NSW New England region, said farmers were not rewarded for looking after the land. "They've got a million things on every day ... they're incredibly hard working," he said. "Most farmers have got a good conscience and they'll look after forests and they'll look after trees." "Then there's the ones, they're just chasing that little extra bit of pasture." The outspoken climate activist said people working on the land should be at the forefront of conversations about how to better protect forest and water. "The forest is like a lake in the landscape," Mr Morris said. "So when we clear we're actually taking that water supply out of the landscape." Nathaniel Pelle from ACF said most farmers wanted to do the right thing, but national laws governing land clearing under the the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act were letting nature and threatened species down. "Only 2.5 per cent of all of the referrals ever made to the [federal] environment department have come on agricultural land, even though somewhere between 80 and 90 per cent of the clearing occurs on agricultural land," he said. "It's really the regulators that need to do a better job of making it clear to farmers that they need to obtain a federal approval." The report, Bulldozing the bush, was expected to be released on June 19. Up to 105 cases of land clearing, mainly for farming, could soon be under investigation by authorities after a citizen science project uncovered 90,000 hectares of bush bulldozed over the past five years. The mature native forest, some housing koalas, rock wallabies, glossy black and pink cockatoos, quolls, and gliders, was cleared across 176 properties around Australia. Most of the habitat was ripped up for farming - especially beef - a new report from the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has found. The environment group said it would refer more than half the cases - 105 - to federal and state investigators because the clearing was potentially illegal. The largest area cleared on a single property was 7000 hectares, but the average was about 500 hectares. "The habitat destruction is as varied as the Australian landscape is," ACF nature campaigner Nathaniel Pelle said. "We have seen everything from mallee - what people would see as desert-looking - scrub or forest from south-west NSW ... [to] incredibly rich, jungle-like rainforests." Mr Pelle said he visited one of the cleared northern NSW sites identified in the report. "If you walk through them, they are towering forests with trees in excess of 40 and 50 metres high," he said. "You would be in the rainforest, you would hear the call of whip birds around you." Just next door was a different story. "You can be standing in that forest and, across the fence, you can see piles of timber on fire and areas of pasture that would once have looked exactly like the rainforest ... before the bulldozers moved in." The environment group enlisted the help of 675 citizen scientists who pored over satellite images from 2023 and 2024 of four million hectares of Australia identified as likely to be cleared. "The vast majority of cases discovered were on agricultural properties (150 out of the 176) and the biggest driver of deforestation is livestock farming (at least 143 of 176 cases)," the report found. More than half the total area cleared was on beef farms. All the vegetation lost included trees older than 15 years, which was more likely to provide homes and habitat for wildlife like koalas, pink cockatoos and greater gliders, the report said. "Some of these examples of bulldozing could even have knocked down habitat for critically endangered species like the swift parrot, regent honeyeater, and bulloak jewel butterfly, as well as several critically endangered ecological communities," it said. Beef farmer Glenn Morris, from the NSW New England region, said farmers were not rewarded for looking after the land. "They've got a million things on every day ... they're incredibly hard working," he said. "Most farmers have got a good conscience and they'll look after forests and they'll look after trees." "Then there's the ones, they're just chasing that little extra bit of pasture." The outspoken climate activist said people working on the land should be at the forefront of conversations about how to better protect forest and water. "The forest is like a lake in the landscape," Mr Morris said. "So when we clear we're actually taking that water supply out of the landscape." Nathaniel Pelle from ACF said most farmers wanted to do the right thing, but national laws governing land clearing under the the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act were letting nature and threatened species down. "Only 2.5 per cent of all of the referrals ever made to the [federal] environment department have come on agricultural land, even though somewhere between 80 and 90 per cent of the clearing occurs on agricultural land," he said. "It's really the regulators that need to do a better job of making it clear to farmers that they need to obtain a federal approval." The report, Bulldozing the bush, was expected to be released on June 19.
West Australian
04-06-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Australia's first national stocktake of $800 billion food system recommends reporting system
A national stocktake of Australia's $800 billion food system by CSIRO and the University of Queensland has suggested a consolidated reporting system could address sustainability and economic gaps. Released on June 2, the report — titled Towards A State Of The Food System Report for Australia — highlighted the need for a public authority to balance ongoing economic goals with sustainability, equity, and health goals, describing the system as 'fragmented'. It revealed those gaps, regarding environmental and health impacts, could amount to $274 billion in hidden costs for Australia. 'Food policy needs to be supported by the consolidated reporting and accountability arrangements provided to other systems, such as the health, social welfare, and criminal justice system,' the report reads. The report states the Australia is stuck in a 'siloed, sectoral view' of the food system. It recommends the implementation of a national food strategy, a Commonwealth ministerial portfolio, and a national food council, as per the recommendations of the 2023 Parliamentary inquiry into food security. CSIRO agriculture and food director Dr Michael Robertson said the Australian food system extends beyond producing and exporting commodities, providing equitable access to sustainably produced healthy food. 'We have an intergenerational responsibility to pursue these goals vigorously,' he said. 'This national stock take provides an evidence base to guide our actions as social, cultural, environmental, and economic priorities shift. 'While Australia's wider food system is an economic and production success, generating more than $800 billion annually and providing significant employment particularly in regional areas, the intersection of our food system with other critical goals calls for a more comprehensive way to evaluate its performance.' According to the report climate change will causing profit losses to farms ranging between two and 50 per cent, and volatility in the production of food. The Australian Conservation Foundation welcomed the release of the report, with business and nature lead Nathaniel Pelle saying the report makes it 'clear' the current food system does not work for farmers, consumers, or nature. 'No activity has shaped the Australian landscape more profoundly than agriculture, while no industry has more to lose from environmental decline,' he said. 'We should not expect that growing food will have no impact on nature, but those impacts need to be managed so that they do not erode the capacity of the natural world to continue supporting future generations' right to food security and a healthy environment.' CSIRO sustainability research director Larelle McMillan said a reporting system would offer valuable insights into where the Australian food system is falling short. 'We need to move from analysing specific parts of the food system, to establishing co-ordinated reporting for important food system attributes and interactions, thus enabling connected up action for a national food system that serves all,' she said. 'This can be used as a focal point to bring together a great diversity of voice and vision to identify pathways to sustainable, health and affordable food for all Australians.'
