October 2019

Queensland’s leading conservation organisations have released a new report into the Queensland Government’s continuing failure to invest the resources needed to meet its own targets for new national parks and protected areas for wildlife.

The report finds that funding for new national parks and other protected areas has fallen to a trickle under the Palaszczuk Government, at odds with their 2015 commitment to build a ‘world leading protected area network’ covering 17% of the state. However, Queensland has the lowest percentage of protected land in Australia and is lagging behind the world. To build a world-leading protected area system in Queensland, it is clear that substantial new investment is needed.

Key findings

1. Queensland has the lowest percentage of protected land in Australia (8.4%), less than half the national average (19%).
2. Queensland Government funding for new national parks has fallen by 65%, from nearly $20 million (2012-15) to less than $7 million per year (2015-20).
3. Funding for private protected areas is stretched to breaking point, with landholders receiving less than 25 cents per hectare over the past five years.
4. There is strong public support for increased investment in national parks and other protected areas.
5. Increased investment in protected areas will deliver multiple environmental, social and economic benefits for Queensland.

Read the full report. This is a joint report from WWF Australia, the Wilderness Society, Australian Conservation Foundation, National Parks Association of Queensland, Queensland Conservation Council and the Pew Charitable Trusts.