The Queensland government is proposing to introduce new laws to "streamline and simplify the legislation that manages the harvesting and clearing of Queensland’s native plants under the Nature Conservation Act 1992, while improving conservation outcomes."

I am very concerned that if the laws have their intended impact of reducing clearing permits and flora surveys by 97% and saving industry $50 million per year will lead to significantly reduced protection of both plant and animal biodiversity in Queensland in direct contradiction to the government's claim to "improve conservation outcomes."

The whole reform rests on highly flawed risk analysis which takes only confirmed point records of threatened (endangered and vulnerable) flora species since 1990 and adds a small buffer then makes these areas "high risk" all areas containing no data are by default considered "low risk" so native vegetation that is not considered to be an endangered regional ecosystem can be cleared without a permit within two months of downloading the risk map as long as the person clearing the vegetation has no knowledge that threatened flora is present.

So much data is missing from the database that areas in Western Queensland can clearly be seen to have numerous records of threatened flora along roads and no data in adjacent private properties that are likely to also contain threatened flora. Of the state 97% of all private land not containing endangered regional ecosystems is now able to be cleared as long as it is not marked as a white dot on this map: http://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/licences-permits/plants-animals/documents/flora-survey-trigger-map.pdf

We are still discovering on average 50 new flora species each year in Queensland and most surveys turn up new records of threatened flora while other species remain not listed as threatened even though they are known only from the type locality or have not been recorded in the wild for several decades.

Additionally the cumulative impacts flowing from increased native vegetation clearing is likely to directly impact threatened fauna through loss of habitat.

Is this a serious misuse of conservation planning and risk management principles that will increase species extinctions?

More information here: http://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/licences-permits/plants-animals/protected-plants-review.html

and here:

http://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/licences-permits/plants-animals/plants-overview.html