Ask our MPs to support landholders who protect and care for vital wildlife habitat

Sign the Nature Refuges Petition

    Dear Meaghan Scanlon, Steven Miles, Deb Frecklington, David Janetzki and Sam O'Connor,

    I support landholders who are working to support the environment, which is why I believe the Nature Refuges program is such a great thing - particularly in Outback Queensland.

    The program has allowed hundreds of landholders from across the state to show their commitment to protecting our state’s natural assets, growing the program into Australia’s largest private protected area network at 4.4 million hectares.

    However, many of those landholders are getting little support to manage their properties for conservation. In fact, over the past five years, the Queensland Government has provided, on average, only 25 cents per hectare to nature refuge landholders to manage their lands, with many landholders receiving no ongoing financial support at all.

    More funding is needed in order to better support existing landholders to manage their lands and encourage new ones to get involved.

    The health of our Outback is currently under threat. Feral animals and noxious weeds are spreading rapidly, while destructive fires threaten property and nature. We need to see more investment in programs that support both people and nature to manage those threats and sustain nature.

    I call on you to support greater investment into our Nature Refuges program to support landholders to care for their land and protect wildlife and the landscapes of Outback Queensland.

    Yours faithfully,
    [Your name will be automatically added]

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    Now, more than ever, Queensland’s native wildlife needs our help. 

    Nearly one thousand species in our state are threatened with extinction and - unless we act fast - we stand to lose many of them forever.

    Our state is home to more species of plant and animal than any other state in Australia. In fact, if Queensland was a country it would be one of the most species-rich countries in the world.

    Unfortunately, a range of threats including feral animals, weeds, fires, climate change and land clearing are threatening our unique wildlife.

    We need to act now. 

    Over the last couple of decades, more than 500 Queensland landholders from across the state have stepped up to play their part. They’ve made a commitment to protect natural values on their properties by joining the Queensland Government’s Nature Refuges program. 

    Together, their properties cover 4.5 million hectares of the Queensland landscape, including wetlands and rainforest, tropical savanna and native grasslands. 

    But funding to help these landholders manage their nature refuges is now stretched to breaking point, with the State Government providing less than 25 cents per hectare on average over the last five years.

    It’s vital that we invest more in the Nature Refuges program, to help committed landholders protect and care for vital wildlife habitat, before it’s too late. 

    Write to your MP today to call for increased investment in the Nature Refuge program.