System to protect Australia’s threatened species from development ‘more or less worthless’, study finds

Grey-headed flying-foxes and tiger quolls were among the species disproportionately affected by projects deemed ‘non-significant’ in terms of environmental impact, the study found. Photograph: Auscape/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Decisions by environment ministers spanning 15 years to either wave through projects or impose stricter conditions to protect threatened species made no actual difference to the amount of habitat destroyed, according to a new study.

More than half of habitat cleared to build infrastructure, mines, urban developments and for agriculture came after a minister had decided projects would have a “non-significant” impact on species and habitat, the study says.