It seems I underestimated when I aimed for 10,000 signatures before the Anzac Day long weekend! You smashed it and we are now in fact just short of 15,000. Thank you so much for your support! I’m feeling confident I have your backing to take this all the way. But to get the attention of our major parties, we need many more signatures.

Please click here to share the petition

Gregory Andrews was Australia’s first threatened species commissioner in 2013. Like you and I, he also questions why it is that “biodiversity and nature have been completely absent from this [election] campaign…”?

We share the belief that what little native habitat remains should be preserved for our country’s unique, and increasingly struggling, wildlife. That enough land has been cleared and that this craziness should stop.

A recent drive through the Western Victorian countryside for my partner and I brought home the undeniable imbalance between cleared land and the few native forests we have left. In a farmer’s paddock stands dotted majestic old red gums. ‘They must be 100’s of years old', I say. ‘And look at those life-supporting hollows!’ Then it breaks our hearts to realise some are dead or dying with tell-tail rings of human foolishness cut around their trunks. Some of these grand old ladies are already reduced to a pile of dead wood, ready for burning. It’s like looking at a bag of bones. What a waste! How counterproductive! Hey Farmer! Was the paddock not clear enough for your cattle? Surely the cows would appreciate the shade? Don’t you realise ultimately the earth would not be as dry and your topsoil would not blow away if you just - let - the - trees - live? Haven't you heard of climate action?* Enough is enough!

But further up the road, we pass another property with retained green corridors, native windbreaks and recent plantings. Our faith is restored. It’s restored every time someone signs or shares this petition.

What would take the decision out of the individual landowners hands is stronger environmental laws. If you agree that our government needs to do more to stem the tide of extinction in this country, please share the petition today with your friends and family.

Thank you.

Warm regards,
Jorj

* I acknowledge that groups like Farmers for Climate Action are making great inroads here.