CANBERRA, Thursday 16 October 2025 — Responding to the tawny frogmouth successful The Guardian’s Fowl of the Yr vote, the next assertion will be attributed to Elle Lawless, senior campaigner at Greenpeace Australia Pacific:
“The much-loved tawny frogmouth is flying excessive as Australia’s Fowl of the Yr, however the win comes at a crucial time because the Labor authorities prepares to reform Australia’s nature regulation, the Environmental Safety and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. The tawny frogmouth and their houses want safety beneath the brand new nature legal guidelines.
“The tawny frogmouth is not only Australia’s favorite hen, it’s a sitting duck. Their woodland and forest houses are being bulldozed round Australia, and our damaged nature regulation permits it to occur. The present Act permits unchecked bulldozing of native forest, together with within the bushland dwelling of the tawny frogmouth.
“And not using a sturdy nature regulation, there can be extra extinctions, and we threat shedding our basic birdsong, just like the light booming name of the tawny frogmouth, from our backyards and forests. As Atmosphere Minister Murray Watt prepares to desk laws to reform our damaged nationwide nature regulation, he has the chance to recognise the nation’s love of birds by creating a powerful new nature regulation that may cease nature destruction and finish the extinction disaster.
“There’s nothing sweeter, or extra Australian, than a tawny frogmouth perched peacefully up a tree with their huge eyes and fluffy feathers, however sadly, they are going to develop into a rarer sight as their tree-homes are relentlessly bulldozed throughout the nation. Murray Watt himself voted for the tawny frogmouth, calling it ‘a wonderful hen’, so the minister ought to do the whole lot in his energy to guard it with sturdy nature regulation reforms.
“Yearly, the Fowl of the Yr ballot makes it clear that Australians love birds, wildlife and our wild locations. If we would like the tawny frogmouth to be round for a lot of extra votes to return, we’d like sturdy, strong nature legal guidelines to guard their houses and finish deforestation.”
Greenpeace Australia Pacific is looking for the EPBC reforms to fulfill 4 key assessments:
Stronger upfront nature safety to information higher selections on large tasks, together with Nationwide Environmental Requirements.
An impartial Environmental Safety Company (EPA) to implement the legal guidelines and make selections about controversial tasks at arm’s lengths from politics.
Closing deforestation loopholes that enable for dangerous industries to hold out mass bulldozing throughout Australia.
Consideration of the local weather impacts on nature from coal and fuel mines when assessing tasks for approvals.
—ENDS—
