The State of the Environment
Dear ,
Every five years, the Australian Government releases a comprehensive independent assessment of the health of our natural environment. These State of Environment reports have been produced since 1996 and consistently have told depressing story to decision-makers of the ongoing deterioration of our priceless natural world.
The most recent State of the Environment report was presented to Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg earlier this year and tabled in the Federal Parliament in March.
For advocacy groups such as The Wilderness Society, much of our time is spent fighting rearguard actions and site specific battles to stop destructive developments or threats, whether that is logging old growth forests, bulldozing millions of hectares of bushlands or attempting to drill for oil in whale sanctuaries. As a result, we rarely have the time or the resources to advocate for the big picture change.
Fortunately for the past few years, The Wilderness Society has been working with a coalition of environmental groups under the banner of the Places You Love Alliance. The Alliance is working for a complete overhaul of how we protect the environment and is calling for a completely new set of national environment laws and institutions, such as an independent National Environment Protection Agency, that actually protects nature and turns around the tide of ongoing loss and degradation of our natural world
We have also been working with some of Australia's best minds to work out the detail behind these new laws and approaches. These leaders operate together under the banner of the Australian Panel of Experts on Environmental Law and in the next few months will release a series of discussion papers and proposals about how we reform the system to actually protect the environment for all of us.
In the coming months, you'll be hearing much more about this new visionary campaign and how we can work together to create real and lasting change.
Yours for nature,
Lyndon Schneiders
National Director, The Wilderness Society
The Deputy Prime Minister’s latest moment of lunacy
In a moment of especial lunacy, the Deputy Prime Minister suggested logging in forest set aside for endangered wildlife to keep the saws running at Victoria’s Heyfield mill.
Barnaby’s call for yet more special treatment for the unpopular native forest logging industry comes at a time when the Yarra Valley is choking with smoke from logging burns (see image).
Reform of the native forest logging industry is long overdue, and right now, panicking over timber jobs is not a sustainable strategy for the Andrews State Government. It’s time for the Great Forest National Park—for clean air, sustainable jobs, and a sanctuary for wildlife.
Read More
Submissions against Santos’ Narrabri project close 22 May
In this critical moment in the campaign to protect the Pilliga forest, we need you to lodge a submission against Santos’ Narrabri Gas Project to help end CSG in NSW once and for all. The local community of the Pilliga has spearheaded the campaign against this project for years. Now is the time for all Australians to stand with them in the final push for the Pilliga. Anyone can make a submission and each and every one will be counted. Make a submission today
Donate to help put an end to land clearing
Australia is in the midst of a land clearing crisis. Giant chains are being dragged across the land behind huge bulldozers, intent on destruction. They are tearing down the trees, killing our native wildlife and releasing millions of tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere. Donate today to help end the land clearing crisis.
Donate now
Photo of the month
IMAGE: An adorable quokka | @hamishstubbs
For a chance to see your own wilderness photo in the next issue of Wild News, share your nature photos with us via Instagram using the hashtag #NatureWeLove or email it to i[email protected] by 26 May 2017 with your name and short description. Good luck! Read the terms and conditions. Read the terms and conditions.
Watch this
Australia needs a new way to manage our forests. Warning: video contains naughty langauge. Watch now
Wild shop
Show you’re a friend to wildlife and wilderness by sporting a tee featuring one of the most iconic Aussies around: the possum. Faithfully recreated from our original illustration, this design features a hand-drawn brushtail possum with the words ‘I Support Wilderness’. Because who doesn’t? Get shopping
Have you heard?
New report from the Climate Council says the development of new unconventional gas is out of step with meeting the Federal Government’s climate change goals. Read more
It will take at least a decade for coral reefs in Western Australia's Kimberley region to recover from recent bleaching event. Read more
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