Stop Bulldozing Country

URGENT CALL FOR FEDERAL ACTION ON NT NATURE

Right now, bulldozers are destroying irreplaceable tropical savanna ecosystems across the Northern Territory, and our Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt has the power to stop them.

This year, the Finocchiaro Government, through its Pastoral Land Board, approved the bulldozing of nearly 35,000 hectares of native vegetation without any federal oversight. That’s an area the size of more than 17,000 MCG playing fields.

Land clearing proposals should be referred and assessed by the federal government, so that these little-known regions are brought under the spotlight and seen for what they really are – precious habitat for iconic Territory species.

OUR FIVE-YEAR FIGHT TO SAVE SPECIES OF THE DALY

After five years of campaigning, investigations, legal action and media advocacy, our pressure paid off: Top End Pastoral Company, the owners of Claravale Farm and Station on the banks of the Daly River, finally referred their land clearing plans to Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt for assessment.

This will be the largest land clearing proposal to ever be assessed under federal nature laws in the Territory’s history and the first of its kind after the passing of the new nature laws.

Top End Pastoral Company want to clear 7,702.23 hectares of native vegetation, which could impact up to 13 threatened species, including the Gouldian finch, freshwater sawfish, pig-nosed turtle, red goshawk and the ghost bat. Ghost bats are found in the limestone caves at Claravale, which experts say is one of only six maternity roost sites for this species in the Territory.

Wagiman Traditional Owners have cared for this land for millennia and continue to do so. The Country at Claravale holds great cultural and spiritual significance to the Wagiman people.

Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt will now consider the impact this bulldozing could have on these iconic species. This is a win for everyone that believes the cowboy culture of destruction on the Territory’s pastoral estates must stop. Landowners can’t keep 'self-assessing’ their own bulldozing plans, destroying habitat and sending more native wildlife to the brink of extinction.

Send the email below, urging the Minister to scrutinise the planned bulldozing at Claravale.

<p><span data-contrast="auto">Dear Minister Murray Watt,</span><span data-ccp-props="{"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Now is your chance to send the message that the broadscale destruction of vital habitat in the Northern Territory must stop. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">The Territory is home to the largest, most intact tropical savanna in the world. It contains a species richness that rivals the Amazon basin, but it’s under threat.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">The NT’s weak environment laws mean that land clearing is poorly regulated here, and prime habitat for threatened species is being bulldozed at an alarming rate, with almost 35,000 hectares of native vegetation approved for destruction by </span><span data-contrast="none">the Finocchiaro government in 2025.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">The community has been fighting for years to have NT land clearing applications assessed by the Federal Environment Minister. And our pressure is paying off – Claravale's owners recently referred the land clearing plans for Stage 2 of their development (4585ha) to you for assessment.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"> We believe you should also assess development stages 1 and 3 - all up they want to bulldoze 7,702.23 ha. </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Claravale, on the banks of the Daly River, is a place of great cultural and spiritual significance to the Wagiman people, who have been caring for this land for millennia and continue to do so. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Claravale also contains one of only six maternity roosts for ghost bats in the entire Northern Territory and is home to many other threatened species including the freshwater sawfish, the Gouldian finch, and the partridge pigeon.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"> </span></p>
<p><strong>I implore you to properly assess the impacts this extensive habitat destruction will have on threatened species, to ensure that significant impacts are avoided and further extinctions prevented. </strong></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">The Territory’s tropical savanna woodlands are some of the last of their kind – and land clearing is destroying them, piece by piece.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"> </span></p>
<p><strong>We ask that you stand up to protect our savanna and Stop Bulldozing Country. </strong></p>
<p><span data-contrast="none">Your sincerely, </span><span data-ccp-props="{"> </span></p>