Researchers call for end to ‘unregulated’ land clearing in the NT

Environment laws at both the territory and federal level are failing to protect the Northern Territory’s tropical savannas and the threatened species that live there, new research has found.

Researchers are calling for tighter land clearing regulations, saying the Territory has the weakest biodiversity protections in the country.

Environment laws at both the territory and federal level are failing to protect the Northern Territory’s tropical savannas and the threatened species that live there, new research has found.

The warning comes as NT Agriculture Minister Mark Monaghan last week said he was actively lobbying his federal counterpart to clear “a damn sight more” land in order to grow the Territory economy.

Research by Charles Darwin University and Deakin University professors found 22,000 MCG’s worth (44,000 ha) of threatened species had been destroyed by deforestation over the past 20 years in the NT.

However, these figures are significantly lower than other states and the NT remains one of the least deforested jurisdictions in the country.

CDU Professor Brett Murphy. Pic: Supplied.

Lead researcher of The State and Future of the Northern Territory Savannas, Brett Murphy, warned a rapid increase in land clearing approvals coupled with weak regulations could spell the end of the NT’s globally significant ecosystems.

“This report is a wake-up call,” Professor Murphy said.

“Our environmental laws are the weakest in the entire country, and they’re not up to the task of protecting the incredible natural values of the Northern Territory’s savanna landscapes. We urgently need the NT government to take action by introducing serious nature conservation laws.

“As new industries such as cotton, for example, emerge, we need some sort of regulatory framework to protect biodiversity and we just don’t have that at the moment - there’s the potential for a free for all.”

At the NT News Ag Leaders Debate last week Minister Monaghan raised concerns about green groups squashing agricultural development - something Professor Murphy dismissed as “alarmist nonsense”.

“What I would be advocating for is not these silly debates about greenies versus ‘bad farmers that just want to clear everything’, but a balanced discussion that weighs up the costs and benefits of different activities. Obviously we all need to eat, so we have to have some land clearing, but it’s about developing in sensible places and thinking about what impacts on the environment are worth it,” he said.

CDU Professor John Woinarski. Pic: Supplied.

CDU’s Professor John Woinarski said current checks and balances between the environment and industry were not working, “imperiling a whole lot of species that are already pushed to the edge”.

“We need a biodiversity conservation strategy,” he said.

“For too long in the Territory, vegetation destruction through land clearing has been largely unregulated, and it’s beyond days now where that’s acceptable.”

On Wednesday about 20 protestors including Greens and independent candidates gathered outside Darwin’s Parliament House to call for greater enforcement of environmental protections, following alleged unlawful land clearing at Lee Point.

Minister Monaghan has been contacted for comment.