We are sending this message to the Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Will you add your signature and ensure that our message makes an impact?
Inaction on climate change and environmental protections means irreversible damage to our environment continues. Without more climate action and urgent reforms to the national nature laws, the decline of Australia’s unique plants, animals, and ecosystems will continue and threatened species will be pushed even closer to extinction.
Full text of the open letter
Dear Prime Minister Albanese and Minister Plibersek,
We, a community of volunteers, conservationists, and constituents from the WA electorate of Curtin and its surrounding areas, are writing to you because we are deeply concerned about the delay in implementing reforms to Australia’s national environment law – the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). These reforms were promised in the Government’s Nature Positive Plan.
Australia has one of the worst extinction records on Earth and many iconic species and ecosystems continue to be threatened by human activity including mining and development. Once these species and habitats have gone, we’ll never get them back and our children and grandchildren will never experience the Australia we all know and love today.
Minister Plibersek, as Environment Minister you have committed to end extinctions and to work to provide better protections for Australia’s wildlife.
While we welcome your government’s plans to introduce a national Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and an Environmental Information Agency (EIA), we are concerned that without promised new national nature laws, these agencies will be left enforcing the weak and ineffective EPBC Act. To date this Act has overseen the continued destruction of animals, plants and their habitats and fails to address climate impacts.
We are concerned that continuing to approve new fossil fuel projects adds to climate change and pushes threatened species closer to extinction and adds to the harm already being suffered by coral reefs and other ecosystems.
We know that funding for the environment in the federal budget is insufficient to bring about the sort of change necessary to save ecosystems and make these laws fit for purpose. We are aware that the state and federal governments of Australia pay $14.5 billion in subsidies to fossil fuel companies many of whom are not paying tax or royalties and who continue to destroy the environment.
We and millions of other Australians care about our natural heritage and work tirelessly to support and protect it.
We urge you to do more to address Australia's environmental decline and save our threatened species and habitats before they disappear by:
- Creating real protections for nature in the existing EPBC Act, alongside introducing a strong and independent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and an Environmental Information Agency (EIA).
- Making sure that climate risks and impacts are assessed for all projects seeking approval.
- Committing to a clear plan for developing and delivering the rest of the urgent reforms to national environment laws within this term of government
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Increasing federal funding to protect and recover Australia's threatened plants, animals and places.
- Putting health and environment before profits of fossil fuel companies and other extractive industries.
Thank you for your consideration of the above, and we look forward to hearing your response.
Yours sincerely,

Latest Supporters
As a parent, grandparent, and former educator, I have had the futures of coming generations front of mind most of my life. I had the benefit of enjoying our rich biodiversity up close. It has been proven that experiences in nature have multiple benefits for our health and well-being. Increasing damage from climate heating, land clearing, population growth etc have seen massive reductions in our flora and fauna. There is no magic wand to bring these back. Extinction is forever.
While the situation is steadily becoming more dire, we do have solutions to most of our problems. The most obvious and profound solutions are to stop all new fossil fuel projects, and to transition quickly to renewable energy sources.
Please consider the legacy you are leaving for your family, friends and the community, and future generations. If you do not act to preserve and conserve our environment, flora and fauna, who will? There is no wriggle room. Too much has been lost already. Be the advocate for nature today, and the hero of future generations. Be the change you want to see.
Dear Minister,
The Samuel report made it clear that the Australian government needs to do much more to better protect our environment. Please use the opportunity you have now to make effective changes to our nature laws and fund effective action to protect our environment.
Sue
Inaction is not an option
Dear Minister,
Please consider future generations and leave a positive environmental legacy for them.
Governments will always get voted in and voted out of power, however through your actions you can leave a long lasting, positive benefit for our environment and all of us who enjoy our beautiful and unique flora and fauna.
You hold the future of our environment in your hands.
Please treat it with great care and consideration as it’s the only one we have and when our native species and their habit are destroyed, there is no second chance, we can’t bring them back through a stroke of a pen.
Thank you for reading and considering my submission, and I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
Robert J.A. Thomas
Dear minister Plibersek,
I admire your integrity and compassion. Please ensure strong nature laws for all the rest of us -humans and planet – and don’t succumb to corporate biases who will be economically okay and will benefit from a liveable future like the rest of us. You can do it!
Nature is essential for life on earth. We need strong nature laws that protect our environment and do not prioritise development. We need clean air and water. We need trees, bushlands wetlands and all the animals, birds, reptiles, insects and fungi that dwell there.
Please save what remains of our unique biodiversity, found only in Australia. It’s disappearing at an alarming rate, never to return. 🙏
Our u pique and precious environment is not nearly protected by current environmental laws as has been abundantly documented in the Samuel’s review and many other scientific studies. Time and time again our natural environment is sacrificed to extractive and polluting industries against which Nature is unable to defend herself. We Australians are in danger of losing the natural heritage we so often praise.
It’s time to end the ignominy of having the worst mammal extinction rate in the world and driving our economy with fossil fuels and become an example to the rest of the world for conservation and restoration of the environments we have for too long ransacked.
Please Prime Minister Albanese and Minister Plibersek we are relying on you to do the right thing and act now to reform the EPBC.
We demand tough environmental laws to preserve what is left of our natural environment.
Save our endangered species please please please!
Please act now, to save the places and species that we love!