Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley's rejection of plans to clear nearly 2000 hectares of native woodland in a key Great Barrier Reef catchment area shows the importance of national leadership on nature protection, the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) says.
ACF has commended the minister for rejecting an application to clear crucial threatened species habitat at Kingvale Station on the Cape York peninsula.
"This is a very welcome move by Minister Sussan Ley and an important decision to safeguard our incredible wildlife in a critical catchment area for the Great Barrier Reef - and protect habitat for rare and threatened parrots, quolls, birds of prey and bats," said ACF chief executive Kelly O'Shanassy.
"ACF has urged successive federal environment ministers to deny this application to bulldoze some of the best remaining habitat for the endangered Golden-shouldered parrot under national environment law.
"I applaud Minister Ley for doing the right thing for this precious patch of Australian woodland and all the wildlife that call it home.
"Queensland was going wave this application through. Today's decision shows the federal government can be a powerful force for good in protecting our rare and threatened species. It highlights the importance of national leadership in protecting Australia's biodiversity."
ACF has been working for a number of years to expose the environmental dangers of clearing nearly 2000 hectares of native forest at Kingvale, as well as the political pressure applied behind the scenes to allow the proposal to proceed.
