NSW land-clearing up 16% in 2024 as conservation groups say Minns government failing to rein in habitat loss

Land clearing at Yarrowitch in the NSW northern tablelands in 2024. More than 80% of the land cleared in 2024 was for agriculture, while the remainder was for infrastructure and native forestry. Photograph: Australian Conservation Foundation View image in fullscreen Land clearing at Yarrowitch in the NSW northern tablelands in 2024. More than 80% of the land cleared in 2024 was for agriculture, while the remainder was for infrastructure and native forestry. Photograph: Australian Conservation Foundation NSW land-clearing up 16% in 2024 as conservation groups say Minns government failing to rein in habitat loss Decline in clearing of trees and shrubs offset by sharp jump in clearing of non-woody vegetation Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Almost 90 rugby league fields’ worth of woody habitat were bulldozed in New South Wales every day in 2024, according to new government data which shows the state has failed to rein in high rates of clearing. Clearing of vegetation across the state increased by 16% in 2024, reaching 81,293 hectares (200,879 acres) in total – an area more than 275 times the size of the Sydney CBD. The increase was due to a sharp jump in clearing of non-woody vegetation, up 70% on the previous year. Environment groups said the numbers, published in the annual Statewide Landcover and Tree Study (Slats) report on Tuesday, showed the Minns government had failed to deliver its promise to stem the state’s high rates of clearing. Mass fish deaths feared as Minns government promise to restore Murray-Darling rivers in doubt Read more “Given there’s been no policy change since the government were elected in 2023 it’s no surprise to see that land clearing hasn’t been fixed,” said Jacqui Mumford, chief executive of the Nature Conservation Council of NSW. “It’s incredibly disappointing when they had a commitment to rein in land clearing that we’re still seeing such high rates.” Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email Land-clearing has been tracked in NSW for the past 20 years. The data is categorised into woody – meaning trees and shrubs – and non-woody vegetation, which includes ground cover plants, herbs and grasses. In 2024, 24,103 hectares of woody vegetation was cleared, a decline on the previous year – when clearing skyrocketed to 32,837 hectares – and 19% below the 2018-2024 average of 29,800 hectares. Total hectares of vegetation cleared in NSW combining agriculture, infrastructure and forestry But WWF-Australia said the rate of woody habitat clearing was still too high and was the equivalent of clearing about 88 rugby league fields every day for a year. “Every hectare of trees bulldozed means fewer homes for wildlife and more carbon pollution in the atmosphere,” said Dr Stuart Blanch, WWF-Australia’s forest policy manager. Blanch said the report was the first that documented a period of time entirely under the Minns government’s watch and “the resu