We started campaigning for strong nature laws because we wanted to fix the root cause of the problem, rather than playing whack-a-mole with a whole bunch of projects that would get approved because the laws were busted.
The fight for strong Australian nature laws has been long, gritty and sometimes incredibly demoralising. I sat down to chat with ACF's Director of Campaigns, Paul Sinclair, who has been a steadfast part of the campaign from when the initial discussions kicked off over a decade ago until the laws were tabled in December.
"There was a lot going on," Paul recalls. "It wasn't just a campaign about creating new laws. It was also about stopping and blocking efforts to make bad laws worse."
There was also the huge task of creating momentum and community to shepherd this campaign through; a force Paul says has always been, and remains, foundational to all successful campaigns.
We know that having good ideas doesn't change anything unless there is power to back that up.”
"We worked really hard to find ways to motivate Australians to take action and support this change."
The nature laws campaign was peppered with roadblocks and significant setbacks that could have easily drowned the confidence of those fighting. In fact, in December 2024 nature laws were dead in the water.
The government killed the laws, then like a zombie they sort of rose from the dead resuscitated by the hands of Kelly O'Shanassy and other incredible colleagues in the movement. Things moved pretty rapidly after that.”
Despite this new breath of life for nature laws, the outcome still felt uncertain up until days before the decision.
"Once the government decided they were going to have a Bill, they could have made a deal with the Coalition or the Greens. We'd scored the Coalition 4/100 on their environmental credentials so hoped for an agreement between the Greens and the Labor Party. It could have fallen over at any time in the last Parliamentary week of the year."
"Kelly had done so much work to keep the movement aligned and working constructively together to give laws the best chance of happening. She did an outstanding job."
"I loved being acting co-CEO of ACF because it's such a privilege to do that at such a great organisation, and yes it was a bit stressful at the sharp end, but that's why I and everyone else at ACF do what we do."
It's high stakes, we don't just want to create conditions for change, we want to influence what that change looks like. And if you want to do that, it gets hot in the kitchen.”
Paul says despite those stakes, he remained optimistic throughout.
With substantial setbacks and high stakes, how does someone fight for over ten years for something that could fall over at any moment?
"One of the things that really re-energised me was spending time with First Nations Lead Josie Alec over in Western Australia."
We stand on the shoulders of generations of activists and everyday Australians who have fought for these creatures”
"Seeing Murujuga, this extraordinary art that is tens of thousands of years old that depicts native species, some of them extinct like the Tasmanian Tiger, then travelling to Ningaloo the next day and seeing some of the same creatures alive in the ocean was incredible."
"Through a sonic microphone we listened to the sounds of humpback whales singing songs to each other, songs that go around the world."
"I realised that the only reason there are now thousands of whales migrating up along Australia is because people over decades took action, held demonstrations, wrote letters and changed laws."
"That moment was huge for me. We're just stewards of this moment right now with the laws."
Of course, the laws we won aren't perfect. But the focus now shifts to holding the government to account.
"We won some things and we failed to make it as strong as we wanted in others, particularly on climate change," says Paul. However, it's not an exaggeration to say that the new laws are a huge victory for nature and people. They must turn their words into action.
I save the most important question until the end of our chat. Which threatened species would Paul save if he had just one?
He gestures to the wedding band on his hand. "The Murray Cod — I've got it on my wedding ring and my wife has it on hers. Murray Cod are for many First Nations people along the Murray Darling River ecosystems, the creation and spirit of that amazing place. And it's an important place for my partner and I. I'd be betraying my relationship if I didn't say Murray Cod!"
Ultimately, it's about bringing people together to do things that they can't do alone and to be better than they can be alone.”
I have one last thread to pull. Paul was recently awarded an Order of Australia Medal for his contributions to conservation and cricket. So how do we bring cricket into this?
"Well, we play with a straight bat which means we're honest and true. We say what we mean and do what we say."
One of the things about cricket and other sport is that ultimately, it's about bringing people together - to do things that they can't do alone, and to be better than they can be alone.