14th Sep 2011 – Senate Motions - National Threatened Species Day - Reverse biodiversity decline

The majority voted against a motion calling for the Government to take action "to reverse the decline of Australia's biodiversity".

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) 7 September was Threatened Species Day, and that this day in 2011 commemorated the 75th anniversary of the extinction of the thylacine (the Tasmanian tiger),

(ii) the global rate of species extinction is greater now than at any time in human history, and

(iii) Australia currently has 1 785 nationally threatened plant and animal species;

(b) agrees that:

(i) as one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, Australia has a special responsibility to protect our unique species, which are inherently precious and must be preserved for future generations, and

(ii) it is incumbent upon this generation to arrest the global decline of biodiversity; and

(c) calls on the Government to commit, in its upcoming reform package to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, to reverse the decline of Australia's biodiversity, including by strengthening the Act to preclude the Minister from granting any approval that would push a species to a higher level of endangerment.