A conservation agency is suing Tanya Plibersek in a claim that alleges she has failed to come up with a plan to save threatened wildlife facing extinction.
The Wilderness Society claimed that the federal environment minister is yet to create or adopt recovery plans for 11 threatened species in a suit filed to the Federal Court on Monday.
The group claimed Ms Plibersek did not meet her obligations as outlined in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
The Act states that ministers must make or adopt recovery plans for species within 90 days of them being listed as threatened.
The 11 threatened native species includes the greater glider, ghost bat, Baudin’s cockatoo, forest red-tailed black cockatoo, Carnaby’s black cockatoo, Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle, red goshawk, long-footed potoroo, Australian grayling, Australian lungfish and sandhill dunnart.
The Wilderness Society alleges that the minister has risked Australia’s biodiversity by failing to act.
‘Recovery plans are legally required. Following the law should not be a high bar for government ministers,’ The Wilderness Society’s biodiversity policy and campaign manager Sam Szoke-Burke said.
‘Environment ministers must be nature’s strongest champions.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek is being sued by The Wilderness Society
Some of the species Ms Plibersek allegedly neglected were the greater glider (pictured), ghost bat, Baudin’s cockatoo, forest red-tailed black cockatoo and Carnaby’s black cockatoo
‘That successive ministers have not made required recovery plans is a symptom of the continuing government neglect that is pushing unique species like the greater glider and Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle closer to extinction.’
Ms Plibersek laid the blame on her Coalition predecessor Sussan Ley.
‘After a decade of environmental vandalism by the Liberals and Nationals, Labor has made record investments to undo the damage done,’ she said, NCA Newswire reported.
‘We’ve doubled funding for our neglected national parks, invested a record $1.2bn to protect and restore the Great Barrier Reef, established more Indigenous Protected Areas, and funded world-leading environmental science – from the Great Barrier Reef to Antarctica.
‘We’re also investing more than half a billion dollars to save our native plants and animals from extinction.’
Meanwhile the Greens, said both major parties failed in their obligation to protect the environment.
The Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle, red goshawk, long-footed potoroo, Australian grayling, Australian lungfish and sandhill dunnart (pictured) are also under threat of extinction
Ms Plibersek is alleged to have failed to complete recovery plans for 11 species within 90 days of them being listed as threatened (pictured, the forest red-tailed black cockatoo)
Greens environment spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young accused Ms Plibersek of failing to halt forest logging.
She also told the publication that Labor’s continuing to approve new coal and gas mines was a failure.
‘It should not be too much to ask for an environment minister to do their job properly and protect nature,’ Senator Hanson-Young said.
