Laws designed to protect biodiversity in NSW and the Hunter were failing and actively contributing to a worsening crisis, the author of an independent report into the Biodiversity Conservation Act believes.
Former federal treasury secretary Dr Ken Henry told an Urban Development Institute of Australia luncheon in Newcastle that the 2016 Act was not meeting its primary purpose of maintaining a healthy, productive and resilient environment.
In a series of slides, Dr Henry argued that natural capital in NSW had been plundered at a rate that far exceeded the contribution from regenerative processes.
This included the fact that:
- More than 30 per cent of native vegetation has been substantially altered
- Fifty per cent of threatened species are expected to survive in 100 years
- Seventy two species had been rendered extinct, including 25 mammals
- Pets and weeds threaten more than70 per cent of vulnerable species
- Only 8 per cent of freshwater sites are free from introduced fish species
Dr Henry's report made 58 recommendations, including changes to the Biodiversity Offset Scheme.
It recommended biodiversity conservation laws take primacy over competing pieces of legislation such as development laws.
It also proposed a move towards a "nature-positive model", under which the environment is repaired and regenerated.
The two-part statement reads: "We recognise that, because of past and present practices of humans, there is a strongly growing risk that future generations will be denied the opportunity to be as well-off as we are.
"We therefore affirm that the economic and social practices of humans should be transformed to support an increase in the stock of natural capital."
The Henry review follows several other recent reports that have found there was inadequate legislative protection for the natural environment.
The government's five-yearly state of the environment released last year found it was in poor and deteriorating health due to pressure from climate change, habitat loss, invasive species, pollution and mining.
Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said previously that the government would consider the review before responding.
"The Minns government will closely consider the report's recommendations, as we deliver on our election commitments to fix the Biodiversity Offset Scheme, strengthen environmental protections and stop runaway land clearing," she said.
