NOFF deplores State government’s criminal neglect of rivers and coastal waters revealed in delayed State of the Environment Report

18/09/2024

NOFF deplores the State government's criminal neglect of rivers and coastal waters highlighted in the newly-released, much delayed State of the Environment Report, which report reveals deeply disturbing failures and lack of action over the past decade.

"The government has failed on every front, making a joke of the state's reputation as the green and beautiful state of which all Tasmanians could be proud," says NOFF president, Peter George. "There's a shameful litany of neglect in the State of the Environment Report. Nowhere is that more evident than in the failure to monitor and protect Tasmanian rivers, coastal waters and marine life."
"The Government has nowhere left to hide from responsibility for the degradation of our waterways. The government and its mates in the salmon industry are now on the clearest notice possible that industrialisation of our waterways is a pathway to marine destruction and extinction."

NOFF highlights the report's dire warnings about the potential extinction of the Maugean skate in Macquarie Harbour and of the red and spotted handfish in Storm Bay. The State of the Environment Reports says:

Critically endangered red and spotted handfish and the endangered Maugean skate, are increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of habitat degradation, pollution, invasive species, and climate change.

"Only a government that pays lip service to the environment but doesn't really want to do anything about it can ignore the report's warning that 'Tasmania's threatened marine fish are at a crossroads', from human activities and global warming," says Mr George.
"The report makes it clear that it had neither time nor resources to complete a comprehensive investigation into the state of Tasmania's waterways and that is an indictment of a government that does not have protecting nature at its core - where it should be."

NOFF says the extensive document needs careful reading and expects more concerns will be highlighted in time.