- The Guardian
- Issue #2179
The federal government gave the green light to more than 57,000 hectares of threatened species habitat destruction last year, making it the worst 12-month period in 15 years.
The Australian Conservation Foundation’s Extinction wrapped 2025 finds:
The northern quoll had more of its habitat approved to be destroyed in 2025 than any other threatened animal.
Western Australia’s Pilbara region is home to all of the ‘top five animal species worst affected by approved habitat destruction: the northern quoll, night parrot, ghost bat, Pilbara leaf-nosed bat, and Pilbara olive python .
A total of 42 plants and animals were added to Australia’s list of species threatened with extinction in 2025.
The night parrot was moved from ‘endangered’ to ‘critically endangered’ and is second on the list of Australian threatened species worst impacted by federally-approved destruction in 2025.
In January 2025, ACF reported that 2024 was a record-breaking year for the amount of koala habitat consigned to the bulldozers (just over 3,000ha); 2025 smashes that record, with 4,511ha of koala homes given approval to be destroyed.
“In 2025, the government gave the greenlight to bulldoze more than twice as much habitat for threatened species as it did in 2024,” said ACF’s CEO Adam Bandt.
“The 57,000 hectares of government-approved destruction last year are just the tip of the iceberg, with countless more hectares of bush and forests being bulldozed unchecked.
“With new nature laws there’s great potential for change, but the onus is firmly on the Albanese government to turn words into action. Once these species are gone, they’re gone forever. As the government finalises the new rules to protect bush and forests and sets up the national EPA, nature needs real protections enforced by a watchdog with real bite.”
PARASITE OF THE WEEK: Queensland’s Crisafulli government, which has approved expansion of a coal mine that was found by the Queensland Land Court to have failed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The decision has been condemned by community group Lock the Gate.
Lock the Gate and Coral Rowston from Environmental Advocacy in Central Queensland lodged objections to the Ensham mine, near Emerald in Central Queensland and in March 2025 the Land Court made a decision to recommend against approval of the mine. The Minister is not required to follow the recommendation of the Land Court and approved the mine. Ellen Roberts, National Coordinator for Lock the Gate, said that the Minister’s unprecedented decision to approve the Ensham mine will lead to more climate disasters for Queenslanders.
“Minister Last conveniently doesn’t mention that the Queensland Land Court recommended against this mine – given that the company had failed to meaningfully reduce the greenhouse gas emissions released during the mining process,” she said.
“It is highly unusual, possibly unprecedented, for the Minister not to follow the recommendation from the Land Court.”
Coal mines leak huge amounts of methane gas during the mining process and mines are expected to pull their weight and implement measures to prevent gas leaks, and the Land Court found that the Ensham mine’s owners have made no effort to do so.
“In approving this climate-polluting mine ,the LNP government has sold out the Queenslanders who are dealing with the financial impacts of climate change such as intense flooding, which is only set to get worse as climate change worsens,” said Roberts.
“By 2030, coal mines are on track to become the biggest source of Queensland’s emissions, with this decision today it seems the LNP government is determined to give multinational mining companies a free pass when it comes to reducing their emissions.”
The mine is also situated on some of Queensland’s best cropping land, putting Queensland’s food and water security at risk; 28 coal expansions are currently tabled in Queensland and if they are all approved would see an estimated 10,614 hectares of wildlife habitat cleared and use a combined 3.7 trillion litres of water.
