Australia has one of the worst rates of deforestation in the world, killing tens of millions of native animals each year. Deforestation is threatening the Great Barrier Reef, poisoning the reef system with toxic runoff from soil erosion and chemicals.
Queensland leads the nation on deforestation
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most extraordinary natural wonders on Earth, but right now it is in serious trouble. While climate change and repeated mass bleaching events are well known threats to the Reef, another major danger is happening on land: deforestation.
Across Queensland, deforestation continues at an alarming rate.
Almost half of this destruction (44%) happens in Reef catchment areas where over 140,000 hectares are bulldozed every year.
This is not just a problem for forests and wildlife. What happens on land directly impacts the health of the Reef.
How deforestation damages the Great Barrier Reef
When forests are bulldozed, the soil becomes exposed and unstable. Heavy rain washes sediment, nutrients, and pesticides into rivers and creeks that flow out to the Reef. This has devastating consequences:
- Dirty sediment, toxic pesticides, and thick run-off from deforested land wash into the reef waters suffocating coral
- Excess nutrients fuel outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish, which prey on coral and destroy large sections of reef.
- Pollution reduces water quality, making it harder for coral to recover from mass bleaching.
Every year, the runoff from just two catchments is the equivalent of 400,000 dump trucks unloading dirt onto fragile coral reefs.
UNESCO’s world heritage committee has specifically identified deforestation as a major threat to the Reef and has urged the Australian Government to do more to stop deforestation in these critical catchments.
Communities and wildlife are at stake
The Reef is home to precious marine life, and is also central to the culture, livelihoods, and economy of coastal communities. A dying Reef threatens:
- Tourism, which brings billions of dollars into Queensland each year
- Fisheries, which depend on healthy marine ecosystems
- Communities livelihoods and way of life.
If mass deforestation continues unchecked, we risk losing not only one of the world’s greatest natural treasures but also the economies and communities that depend on a healthy reef.
New nature law brings hope for the Reef
Australia’s national nature law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, was created to safeguard precious places like the Great Barrier Reef. But huge loopholes meant that these laws were broken: instead of protecting nature, they enabled large scale deforestation to continue almost unchecked for decades.
Now, there is new hope: after sustained pressure from countless Australians, scientists and advocates, the Government made historic changes to fix our national nature law.
The reforms, passed in 2025, could be a big step forward for forests, wildlife and nature. The Government finally removed the loopholes that have allowed the bulldozing of Australia’s precious forests and the smothering of the Reef for too long.
The agriculture industry is looking to face tougher rules, particularly when it comes to bulldozing forests close to rivers that flow into the Great Barrier Reef.
Big businesses are allowed to bulldoze and log native forests through loopholes in the current law. Without a strong law that closes deforestation loopholes, the destruction of wildlife and forests will continue, and countless more native animals will face extinction.
Time for Government action
These new laws are a once-in-a-generation chance to save threatened species like the green sea turtle and grey nurse shark from extinction. The Albanese government could become a world leader in nature and forest protection.
Tell PM Anthony Albanese to protect our great barrier reef and forests
The Australian Government just reformed our national nature law. It is a once-in-a-generation chance to protect forests, wildlife and the Great Barrier Reef. Your voice matters. Tell Anthony Albanese to end deforestation in Australia NOW!
The science is clear: protecting forests is essential to saving the Reef. Stopping deforestation will reduce pollution, improve water quality, give coral a chance to recover, and protect the tourism and fishing industries that rely on a healthy Reef.
But nature will only be protected if we push for the law to be implemented swiftly and in full.
We are calling for the Australian Government to protect forests and the Great Barrier Reef by:
- Enforcing the new rules to reign in deforestation in Great Barrier Reef catchments, and using technology to detect forest destruction as it happens.
- Assessing the total impacts of deforestation on the Reef, and using this to develop a binding plan for the catchment, including specific rules and designated areas where no deforestation is allowed.
By demanding a strong nature law – together we can keep forests standing, help wildlife flourish, and give the Great Barrier Reef a fighting chance.
Without urgent and strong Government action, deforestation will continue to push the Reef closer to the brink. Together, we can make sure the law is enforced and gives forests and the Reef the protection they urgently need.
Your voice matters. Please sign our petition today.
