Slow response heightens emergency

What do crabs and birds have in common? The answer is that newly discovered populations of either are not necessarily guaranteed protection by the Federal Government.

This dire situation became apparent recently when several new species of crabs and other crustaceans were discovered on Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula. The newly discovered species could have been afforded protection under the powerful Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act if the Government had followed its own guidelines, but instead they chose inaction, leaving the fate of the as-yet-undescribed crustaceans in the hands of the miners who propose to extract bauxite from the site.

Why the fuss? This situation could easily be applied to populations of birds as well.

In the recent review of the EPBC Act, one of the few recommendations accepted by the Government was to provide emergency protection to newly discovered species. It was one of the few bright spots in what was an otherwise lacklustre response to the review. Birds Australia supported all of the review’s recommendations, which addressed the major gaps that exist in the EPBC Act.

However, despite accepting this particular reform, the Government has baulked at efforts to fast-track its progress through

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