Recovery plans designed to prevent the extinction of nearly 180 endangered species and habitats, including the Tasmanian devil, were ruled out by the Coalition at one of Sussan Ley’s final acts as Minister of Environment.
Last year, the Morrison government proposed eliminating the requirement for a statutory plan for 185 plants, animals, and habitats, including several plans that were years behind schedule.
In March, Ley signed decisions to remove this requirement for 176 species and habitats, with the measure quietly released by the environment department after the April elections were called.
Ley made the decisions despite the government asking for comments which received 6,701 responses, all of which disagreed with the proposal.
Wilderness Society policy and strategy manager Tim Beshara called the former minister’s decision “shameful” and said he hoped the new environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, would review it.
“What kind of planet does the Commonwealth believe they don’t need a recovery plan for a Tasmanian devil, one of the most ecologically important species in existence, or the Christmas Island flying fox, critically endangered?” a species totally under the control of the Commonwealth and one of the most likely future extinctions in Australia, “he said.
“I can’t think of a better way for incoming Minister Tanya Plibersek to come to understand the political dysfunction rooted in her portfolio than through this example of administrative ineptitude and contempt for the community.”
The requirement for a recovery plan is at the discretion of the Minister of the Environment, but when such a requirement exists, ministers are legally obliged not to make decisions that are inconsistent with the plan.
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The proposal to eliminate plans for nearly 200 plants and animals received a shout from conservationists last year. A review of recovery planning by the Scientific Committee on Endangered Species (TSSC) followed.
Among the 176 are endangered nocturnal oak, which was affected by the 2019-20 forest fires, the critically endangered Cumberland Plain Forest, which is regularly cleared to develop west of Sydney, and several Christmas Island species, including the critically endangered Christmas Island flying fox.
In her published reasons for each decision, the minister said she had followed the advice of the scientific committee and had formed the view that a recovery plan “would not provide a significant benefit of conservation planning” above. of other mechanisms that were already in place.
All affected species and habitats have what is known as a conservation council, which is a similar document but not legally binding in the same way that recovery plans are.
TSSC President Helene Marsh has previously said that recovery planning has been ineffective, with plans often unfunded and actions not implemented, and that a conservation council could often be updated more quickly after emergencies such as fires. forestry.
Prior to the election, Labor pledged $ 224.5 million for a national endangered species program that would include addressing a backlog of expired and obsolete recovery plans.
The appointment of Plibersek, one of the most experienced labor ministers, to the environment and water portfolio has been welcomed by conservation groups given the scale of the reform, which has been identified as necessary to reverse the decline of the environment. of Australia.
Sophie Power of the Australian Conservation Foundation said Ley’s decision was disappointing and that the groups would agree with the new minister.
“We shouldn’t just give up and abandon recovery planning. It’s a key conservation tool,” he said.
“If it’s done well and with the right resources, we think it’s critical.”
There were nine species of the 185 that Ley, now the deputy leader of the opposition, decided would still require a recovery plan, including the flying fox glasses and the golden sun moth.
His office addressed questions to the environment department because he no longer has portfolio responsibilities.
A spokesman for the environment department said the former minister had followed the advice of the scientific committee in each case.
The TSSC reviewed the recovery plans for 914 threatened species and habitats last year and its initial advice was that 676 no longer required a plan.
185 represented the first stretch of what was to be a broader proposal.
The spokesman said the scientific committee’s goal was to modernize conservation planning and “ensure that all registered species and ecological communities have adequate plans to support their recovery.”