Conservationists slam "fast track to extinction" from State Government's EPBC call

The state's peak conservation group has slammed the Queensland Government's call to fast track oil and gas projects, alongside an announcement that Queensland's Productivity Commission will hold an inquiry into Australia’s federal nature laws. 

Queensland Conservation Council Acting Director Anthony Gough said

This announcement is highly concerning for anybody who wants to ensure Queensland’s natural environment, iconic wildlife, and precious water resources remain protected.

Linking the Productivity Commission inquiry directly with a call to fast track oil and gas approvals risks prejudicing its findings, and ignores the massive economic contribution that a healthy environment makes to tourism, agriculture and other industries.

Any fast tracking of oil and gas projects makes a mockery of federal laws designed to protect nature.

One of the greatest threats to our native animals and plants is climate change. Fast tracking fossil fuel projects means fast tracking the extinction of koalas and our other iconic species. 

These projects also have outsized local impacts, including on native species habitat, local water resources, and prime agricultural land.

This announcement demonstrates the massive risk to Queensland’s wildlife, water and icons like the Great Barrier Reef should federal decision-making powers be handed over to state and territory governments.

All Australians want to see our native species survive and thrive, our waterways stay clean and flowing, and the Great Barrier Reef preserved for future generations. That’s why we have federal laws. 

These federal laws provide a crucial check and balance to ensure inappropriate projects can’t be fast tracked, and there’s another level of decision-making to make sure these matters of national environmental significance remain protected.

We urge the Productivity Commission to properly examine the tremendous economic value generated from Queensland’s natural environment. 

The Great Barrier Reef contributes $9 billion to the economy every year, supporting 77,000 jobs in tourism, fishing and other industries, while the Cape York region alone contributes $130 billion to the economy annually.  

The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates Queensland’s forests, grasslands, savannahs and mangroves collectively provide $11.3 billion in value through carbon retention.  

Mangroves, saltmarsh and seagrass provide an estimated $400,000 per hectare per year in storm and erosion protection, saving households an estimated $65 million in annual damages nationally.

All of these economic outputs need to be taken into account by the Productivity Commission, and are threatened by projects which the State Government seeks to fast track.

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