Australia’s threatened species list keeps growing, with eight animals and five plants added in the past month.
The addition of the 13 species to the list under threat, published by the Federal Government, has sparked calls today for tougher environmental laws.
Joining the endangered register are three freshwater fish, three lizards, one frog and one turtle.
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The new flora listings are one rainforest tree, two flowering shrubs, a daisy and an orchid species.
They are part of 2224 species recognised by the Australian government as being under threat of extinction.
Conservation groups say habitat destruction and land degradation are to blame for the list growing.
The threat is also exacerbated by the impact of climate change.
“Australia has the most reptile species on the planet and more than 90 per cent of them are not found anywhere else, so it’s really sad to see three more lizards added to the list,” said Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) nature campaigner Darcie Carruthers.
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“The Hunter Valley delma, a legless lizard, was only named a species in 2022 and two years later it has been declared endangered.
“More than 90 per cent of the lizard’s known range in the NSW Hunter Valley has been damaged by open cut mining and agriculture. There are at least 20 coal mines within the species’ known habitat range.”
Carruthers says plant species are also being affected by deforestation, with one rainforest tree rapidly added to the “critically endangered” category.
“The Coffs Harbour Fontainea is under immediate threat from clearing and road construction works,” he said.
“The tree is now only found in two pockets of bushland owned by Transport for NSW – within the boundaries of a road project.”
Analysis by ACF found more species were added to the national threatened species list last year than in any other year since the list was established.
Carruthers says this should be a wake-up call for the Albanese government.
“These latest listings show our nature laws are powerless to stop Australian plants and animals being willfully destroyed.”
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