A conservation scientist at the University of Newcastle has called out the federal government's zero extinction action plan, saying it "doesn't go far enough".
Professor Matt Hayward said that while the government's Threatened Species Action Plan is "not a step backward", there is room for improvement.
The plan, which aims to prevent new extinctions in the next decade, lists 110 priority species from the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act's list of more than 1900 critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable species.
"Species were scored using national-scale data sets by independent ecologists and the Australian community was also invited to have a say on species important to them," the plan said.
Professor Hayward said it is a "hand-picked group of species that the justification is pretty limited for".
"The theory they are going behind is this umbrella species concept. Where if you protect one species, it kind of acts as an umbrella around all the other species," he said.
"These are relatively easy species and there are some harder ones I think that would do a better job of that."
One species that Professor Hayward said should be on the list is the Regent Honeyeater, found in the Hunter.
"It is one of Australia's rarest birds," he said.
"Historically it occurred from Victoria, all the way up through the forests and woodland of NSW into Queensland.
"There may be fewer than 450 left and they used to be in the thousands."
The Australian government currently has a goal to protect and conserve 30 per cent of Australia's land and 30 per cent of Australia's oceans by 2030. Like other species, Professor Hayward said, the honeyeater is largely affected by habitat loss.
"Australia has one of the highest clearing rates in the world. Which for a developed country is pretty embarrassing," he said.
"NSW has had a recent run of clearing more land than ever before. That kind of counteracts the Commonwealth government's policy."
He said there are an "unfathomable" number of benefits provided through biodiversity.
"Things like cleaning water, medicine, drugs, health benefits," he said.
"Studies in Australia have shown that if you spend half an hour each day in a biodiverse area in the bush your blood pressure will reduce, the rates of depression will reduce.
"Future generations may not get that."
He called for stronger laws around land clearing and the reintroduction of recovery plans.
"A few years ago the government stopped recovery plans which are documents that outline exactly what you need to do to recovery a species," he said.
"It's costed out and the government commits to funding these actions and not do anything that contravenes these pans.
"Obviously, that constrains what the government can approve so they were pretty averse to that in the last government."
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