A submission to the inquiry into the ‘Effectiveness of threatened species and ecological communities’ protection in Australia’ conducted by the Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications.
There is a need for a more business-like approach to invasive species threats – to identify long-term goals and targets that reflect the immense intrinsic and instrumental values of Australia’s species and ecological communities; develop costed plans for prioritised, realistic goals; close major gaps in legislation and policy; and properly and productively involve the community sector in policy-setting, decision-making and on-ground conservation.
Key points made by the submission include:
- Invasive species are a major cause of extinction and threaten about three-quarters of Australia’s threatened species and ecological communities
- As new species arrive and existing invaders increase and spread, the threats of invasive species are increasing
- Climate change will exacerbate the threats of invasive species
- Management of invasive species has been ineffective
- There is no commitment to the invasive species target in Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy
- Key threatening process provisions are poorly used and ineffective
- There are major legislative gaps in regulating actions involving invasive species within Australia
- Resources for invasive species management are woefully inadequate
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