The Australia Institute Tasmania is calling on the Tasmanian government to keep in place protections for depleted fish populations. The Tasmanian government has today announced a backflip on planned measures to rebuild depleted fish populations managed under the Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery. Instead, the government has reopened consultation on the rule changes until September 25 and

The Australia Institute has provided Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek with additional evidence that highlights the urgent need to end fish farming in Macquarie Harbour, in further correspondence about Federal Government obligations to protect the endangered Maugean Skate.

The Australia Institute has found that a communique, released late on Friday 4th August by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania, is lacking action to prevent the extinction of the endangered Maugean skate.

More than 80 organisations from around the globe are calling for the accreditation schemes, Best Aquaculture Practices and GlobalG.A.P., to immediately revoke their ‘sustainability’ certifications from farmed salmon and trout raised in waters adjacent to the World Heritage Area, Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania. The demand comes as federal and state government workshops are held in Hobart

The Australia Institute Tasmania has written to federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, urging her to intervene and end salmon farming in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour, which is threatening the endangered Maugean skate. The letter asks the Minister to review the decision to greenlight expanded marine farming operations. The decision was made more than a decade ago

The Australia Institute Tasmania is calling on the Tasmanian government to commit to end overfishing and rebuild fish stocks, after ignoring evidence of overfishing for decades. It is among the think tank’s 10 recommendations (see below) to the Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery Rules Review that aims to aid species recovery and modernise management arrangements so the

Tasmania’s native forests are globally recognised for their unique species and their conservation value. They are also some of the most carbon dense forests on the planet.

Federal MPs, an Olympic champion and acclaimed authors are among dozens of high-profile names urging the Tasmanian government to end to native forest logging.

The Australia Institute is calling on the Tasmanian Government to follow Victoria and end native forest logging from 2024.

The Australia Institute will join a growing number of state and national organisations, independent scientists and Tasmanians, demanding an immediate halt to salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour. The Maugean skate is teetering on the brink of extinction according to scientists from the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), who this week took the extraordinary

The Australia Institute Tasmania has called for stronger measures to address depleted fish stocks and prevent future overfishing in a detailed submission on the Tasmanian Government’s Draft Harvest Strategy for Wild Fisheries. The recommendation of ensuring fish levels stay at 48% of unfished biomass is in line with CSIRO recommendations that guide Commonwealth fisheries strategies.

Losing the low-middle income tax offset and getting the Stage 3 tax cuts will leave most workers worse off

New analysis reveals rural and regional communities will get the least from the Stage 3 income tax cuts, with experts warning the package will widen economic inequality between the city and the bush and reduce revenue for essential rural health, education and community programs. 5 of the bottom 10 ‘biggest losers’ from the Stage 3

Tasmania’s coastal waters are in trouble and Tasmanians know it. Recently published research in the journal Nature, the world’s leading science journal, found that more than 500 common species of marine life have declined around Australia in the past decade. These declines are most marked in the rocky kelp-dominated reefs around Tasmania. We know that

Public opinion backs science, as Government continues to side with salmon industry

Today the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) and the Australia Institute Tasmania have written to Tasmanian Treasurer Michael Ferguson requesting the release of at least $1.5 million to enable the Government to fulfil its legal obligation to produce a State of the Environment Report in the 2023-24 Tasmanian Budget.

NSW has one poker machine for every 88 people – more than 10 times the amount in Western Australia

Momentum is building to fundamentally improve the way we care for and use our coastal waters, ahead of the Australia Institute’s Tasmanian Ocean Summit today.

The first review of Tasmania’s main marine law, the Living Marine Resource Management Act 1995, is currently underway.

As the Tasmanian Parliament debates reforming the Electoral Act, integrity experts are urging politicians to use the opportunity to enact truth in political advertising protections, following deceptive and dangerous advertisements from the Australian Christian Lobby. Key Findings: Polling consistently finds most Australians want truth in political advertising laws, with 2021 Australia Institute polling research finding 87% of

Tasmanian MPs will continue to debate new political donations disclosure laws, and amendments to the Electoral Act, in Parliament next week. But will our elected representatives grab this opportunity to introduce truth in political advertising laws for Tasmania?

The Australia Institute Tasmania commends the Planning Ministers decision to direct the Tasmanian Planning Commission to produce a State of the Environment (SOE) Report by June 2024. Following research and advocacy from the Australia Institute, the EDO and other groups, the Minister for Planning Michael Ferguson MP has recognised the importance of SOE Reports, that

As the Tasmanian government seeks to limit spending on the pokies, the data shows how much gambling takes from society, and how little it delivers in revenue

The Australia Institute Tasmania commends the Tasmanian Government for recognising the need to improve salmon farming practices in its response to the Legislative Council Inquiry Report on Finfish Farming in Tasmania. The long-awaited Legislative Council Fin Fish Farming Inquiry report tabled in Parliament in May, highlighted the many problems faced by the industry. The Inquiry’s

The Honourable Minister for Planning Michael Ferguson MP has been urged to direct the Tasmanian Planning Commission to fulfil its statutory requirements by publishing a long-overdue Tasmanian State of the Environment Report, in a letter from the Environmental Defenders Office on behalf of the Australia Institute, Tasmania. The letter requests that, before August 22 2022,

Following the national state of the environment assessment release, Tasmanians deserve to know when a report on our state will occur, writes Eloise Carr.