Public attitudes towards conservation and nature

The second annual Biodiversity Concerns Survey has shown that Australians care deeply about the state of nature, with a strong majority wanting the federal government to greatly increase its investment in conservation programs and implement stronger national environmental laws.

key findings

After learning that the government currently spends less than 1% of the Federal budget on protecting the natural environment, almost all Australians (95%) wanted a better budget for nature, and 75% wanted at least 2% or more of the federal budget spent on nature. This would represent more than a five-fold increase of current investments.
The majority of Australians believe it is very important to uphold Australia’s international obligations as a signatory of the Convention on Biological Diversity to stop or reduce the extinction of animals (64%), ensure at least 30% of land and seas are protected (58%) and to reduce the impact of invasive species (57%), in line with the Global Biodiversity Framework adopted in 2022.
9 in 10 Australians want more listed threatened species actively recovered, and almost half (46%) believe the Government should aim to protect and recover all listed threatened species. Currently the Australian Government prioritises 5% (110 species) through its threatened species action plan.
There is majority support (81%) for implementing measures to protect Australian wildlife of cultural significance, such as the platypus, along with establishing a duty of care for governments to protect future generations from environmental harm (71%).
The majority of Australians indicate that it is important to them to know nature is being looked after (85%) and indicate that nature conservation issues would influence how they voted in future elections (89%).
The majority of Australians feel connected to nature and almost all Australians are at least moderately concerned about biodiversity issues, including increasing waste and pollution (90%), loss of natural places (89%), and the decline/extinction of insects and pollinators (86%).