NSW government data released on Tuesday shows land clearing, primarily for agriculture, has again increased across the state, with the Australian Conservation Foundation condemning it as a “broken promise” from the Minns Government.
The latest Statewide Landcover and Tree Study (SLATS) shows clearing increased from 66,498 hectares in 2023 to more than 81,000 hectares in 2024. That’s an area more than five times larger than Sydney’s Royal National Park.
Agriculture increased its role as the dominant driver of land clearing, accounting for 88% of all clearing in NSW in 2024, up 77% from the previous year.
“The NSW Premier Chris Minns promised to rein in land clearing but his government has failed to prioritise it, and the result is that in 2024 we lost an average of 223 hectares a day, or the equivalent of eight Taronga zoos,” ACF’s deforestation expert Nathaniel Pelle said.
“All of that vegetation was habitat for native animals, protecting soil and riverbanks, and sequestering carbon, so those numbers tell a story of massive damage to nature and the climate in NSW.
“If Chris Minns continues to sit on his hands, and the supermarkets and fast food giants that promised deforestation-free beef continue to turn a blind eye to the bulldozers, then we don’t need a crystal ball to predict the data will tell a similar story next year.”
“The NSW public and our native species deserve better than that,” Mr Pelle said.