Biodiversity — Australian Democrats

Losing count

Scrub the years to see the trend — then fund the recovery and bend it back.

Decline rate as reported in the policy (−2–3%/yr); recovery curve illustrative.

The plan at a glance

Fund the turnaround

Halt and reverse nature loss from a 2020 baseline so that by 2030 nature is measurably recovering.

Act on the list

Real recovery action for the 1,700+ threatened species and ecosystems under the EPBC Act.

Protect 30% by 2030

Expand protected areas to cover 30% of every Australian ecosystem, aligned with the global Kunming–Montreal pact.

Put money where the loss is

Rebalance a budget that funds speculative carbon capture ahead of the species going extinct now.

The next five years for nature

Two versions of 2030 — pick one.

Business as usual

Populations fall another 2–3% every year
Extinctions continue with world-record momentum
Funding shrinks relative to the economy
The lists grow; the funding doesn’t

Nature positive — our plan

Recovery measurable from a 2020 baseline by 2030
30% of every ecosystem protected
Recovery plans funded for every listed species
Biodiversity treated as infrastructure, not decoration

The full policy

Word for word — the platform as our members wrote it.

The Issues

Australia is a megadiverse continent supporting 7.8% of the world’s described species. More than 90% of our vascular plants, frogs, and reptiles, and more than 80% of our mammals are endemic.

Threatened species populations have declined by 2-3% a year for the past 20 years.

The Labor Government committed to end extinctions and expand protected areas to cover 30% of every Australian ecosystem by 2030. This is part of its Nature Positive Plan, aligned with the 2022 Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity pact. The goal is not just to conserve nature but to restore what is being lost.

However, the Federal budget allocated more money to doubtful carbon capture and storage than to biodiversity. Research shows that less than 0.1% of the budget spend will support biodiversity in some way. Over the past decade, biodiversity funding went down 25% relative to GDP.

Our Plan

Fund to halt and reverse nature loss from a baseline of 2020, by increasing the health, abundance, diversity and resilience of species, populations and ecosystems so that by 2030, nature is transparently and measurably on the path of recovery
Act on protecting the more than 1,700 threatened species and ecosystems listed under the EPBC Act
Increase Commonwealth funding for threatened species recovery to at least $4 billion/year to recover our most threatened native plants, animals and fungi
Develop clear long-term - 25 years minimum - management that delivers in-situ biodiversity conservation outcomes
Create a $5 billion fund to purchase land with high biodiversity values
Support private land conservation programs
Cease native forest logging permanently by 2025 and end clearing of remnant native vegetation by 2030

At a personal level, you can help by:

Reducing your use of fossil fuels
Eating less beef and lamb and choosing sustainable seafood products
Choosing biodiversity-friendly investments
Planting and maintaining a wildlife garden or join a friends group that revegetates land with indigenous species
Keeping your dog on the leash in natural areas
Desexing and keeping your cat indoors
Supporting controls on pest feral animals and invasive species
Reducing your light pollution

The Evidence

The Biodiversity Convention (signed by Australia) reports:

Although Australia retains much of the estimated original extent of native vegetation cover, its condition is variable and masks an underlying issue in the decline of many ecological communities. Vegetation clearance has not been evenly spread across Australia and, consequently, some individual vegetation communities now occupy less than 1% of their original estimated extent and many others are highly fragmented. In some cases, the threats to the condition and extent of these and other native vegetation communities are ongoing. Concerted action will be required to reduce this decline, especially as this is a challenge that is likely to be further complicated by climate change. The Australia State of the Environment Report 2011 provides details on the continental extent of Australian vegetation.

— Convention on Biological Diversity

The CSIRO State of the Climate report on the future warns of more heat and fewer cold extremes, a decrease in cool season rainfall, a rise in short-duration, heavy-rainfall events, more dangerous fire weather days and a longer fire season for southern and eastern Australia. There will be sea level rises, warming and acidification of oceans around Australia, increased and longer lasting marine heatwaves. These changes will doubtless result in further decline of biodiversity.

A conservative estimate is that 1.25 billion animals and 100 billion insects died in recent fires in Victoria. Climate change contributed to the inferno through drought, extreme temperatures, dry lightning strikes and unique fire weather systems. By the end of January 2020, more than 10 million hectares had been burnt.

Labor’s Nature Positive Plan

References

Biodiversity Council 2024/25 Pre-budget Submission
Show nature the money! Here are 9 things to look out for in the budget
Convention on Biological Diversity report: Australia: Financing for Biodiversity 2019
Australia is not doing enough to preserve biodiversity
NSW biodiversity reforms signal progress, but gaps still exist

Make it happen.

Policies like this only become law when enough people push. Push with us.

Join the Democrats →All Environment & Climate platforms

Nature is going quiet. We can turn the volume back up.