The West Australian government is under investigation for allegedly failing to comply with environmental conditions in the state’s north.
The investigation, conducted by the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), involves the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s (DPIRD) management of a conservation zone near Kununurra in the Kimberley region.
The state government is the proponent of the Weaber Plain Development Project (known as the Goomig Project), which was approved in 2011 to allow the clearing of nearly 10,000 hectares near Kununurra.
It allowed agricultural expansion on the fertile soils of the Ord Valley, where crops such as sandalwood, corn, and cotton are grown.
The soil and availability of water in the Kimberley’s Ord Valley makes it fertile agricultural land. (ABC Kimberley: Alys Marshall)
When the land was approved for clearing, the protection of the endangered population of Gouldian finches in the area was a key stipulation under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
To preserve the population, a buffer zone of 11,545 hectares was established in and around the agricultural development.
But the 2023/24 financial year marks the fourth consecutive year without a sign of the small, seed-eating birds in nest boxes within that buffer.
‘Marking its own homework’
The 2023/24 compliance report by DPIRD shows 15 items of noncompliance regarding the development area, five of which relate to the Gouldian finch population within the buffer area.
DPIRD declined to be interviewed but told the ABC in a statement it provided annual compliance reporting under its obligation to the EPBC Act.
“DPIRD received a DCCEEW request in March 2024 for further information on DPIRD’s 2022/23 compliance report and responded to that request in April 2024,” the statement read.
The environmental buffer zone borders the land cleared for farming crops in the Ord Irrigation Scheme. (ABC Rural: Alys Marshall)
Jess Abrahams, a national nature campaigner with the Australian Conservation Foundation, accused the state government of failing to meet its environmental requirements.
“The West Australian government, in marking its own homework, has admitted to systemic failures,” he said.
“I’m worried this is an early sign of what’s called a micro-extinction, when a species once known from an area disappears because conditions have worsened.”
Mr Abrahams pointed to DPIRD’s latest report, which identifies fire and weed management as two areas of non-compliance, as evidence of why Gouldians have left the conservation zone.
An endangered Gouldian finch in the East Kimberley. (Supplied: Greg Postle)
‘System is failing our wildlife’
Consultant group Biota Environmental Sciences monitored Gouldian finch foraging activity in the area during 2024 and pointed to a decline in wet season foraging activity as a key concern.
The report detailed changes in vegetation composition in low-lying areas of the buffer as a potential reason for this.
“Multiple transects in low-lying areas had little or no cover of the key foraging grasses,” the Biota report said.
“This was particularly prevalent in transects located in narrow segments of remnant native vegetation between cleared agricultural areas.”
But in the broader East Kimberley region Gouldian finch monitoring groups are reporting record sightings.
Biota additionally pointed to several observations of small numbers of the endangered finch within the buffer zone last year inspecting hollows and foraging for food, but none were found in nest boxes.
A flock of Gouldian finches observed in the Northern Territory. (Supplied: Kacie Austin)
A federal government spokesperson said it would be inappropriate to provide comment on an ongoing investigation.
But Mr Abrahams held no confidence the eventual outcome of the investigation would create change under the current act.
“The EPBC Act is 25 years old,” he said.
“A review into that act found it to be failing the environment.
“I don’t hold out much hope of a strong outcome or a strong consequence.
“The system is failing our wildlife.”
It is not clear how long the investigation will take.
