Ten Sydney Harbours’ worth of threatened species habitat approved for destruction in 2025, report finds

The northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) was the species worst affected by federally approved land clearing in 2025, according to a new report. Photograph: Henry Cook/Getty Images

More than 57,000 hectares of threatened species habitat was approved for destruction by the Australian government in 2025 – the most in 15 years, according to analysis by the Australian Conservation Foundation.

The ACF’s latest annual “extinction wrapped” report has revealed that the threatened species habitat greenlit for land-clearing was about 10 times the size of Sydney Harbour – more than double the 2024 figure, and over five times the 10,426 hectares approved for razing in 2023.