Petition on the Ammendments to the EPBC Act

We the undersigned are of the opinion that in a time when on every level, nature is under threat from human development, all efforts must be made to protect, preserve, rehabilitate and reserve AUSTRALIA's remaining significant ecosystems and species.

The habitat loss and survival pressure caused by climate change alone in the last decade have reduced biodiversity in ways which are only just being discovered, reported upon and understood. The management response to many species or ecosystems under threat has not even been developed yet.

In this context, the proposed ammendments to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act), appear to be motivated by a cost cutting, and politcal face saving agenda, rather than offering further resources and tools to bring to bear on the key threatening processes and required management.

The current ammendments as proposed, appear to only contribute to the decline of our nation's biodiversity. Further species loss, ecosystem loss and continued extinction processes that may have been ameliorated through the EPBC Act will be jepardised.

We, the undersigned, ask the Parliament of Australia to honour our national and international environmental commitments, and strengthen rather than weaken the EPBC Act to fully protect and manage Australia's natural heritage. We also encourage further resource allocation to ensure continued growth in Australia's multi-billion environmental industries, and the continued implementation of the current requirements of the EPBC Act. The proposed ammendments appear to be in contravention of the spirit of the National Biodiversity Strategy, the National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Developement, and the precautionary principle which requires us to act in the absence scientific certainty to prevent environmental loss or damage.

Help make John Howard do a backflip on the environment!

Object to the amendments to the EPBC Act and ensure our threatened species and biological diversity is protected.

Please sign now! The Current ammendments to the EPBC Act are being reviewed by the Australian Government in the next few weeks -urgent action is required on this issue.