Two conflicting reports on land clearing during the last week are likely to leave Queensland residents confused over the issue and make it difficult to decide as to what is fact, bias or just propaganda.

The Queensland Minister for Resources and Critical Minerals, Scott Stewart said the latest Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS) report and accompanying vegetation management analysis shows Queensland’s vegetation management laws continue to protect native ecosystems.

The report analysed woody vegetation clearing over the 2021-22 period, with the results, according to Mr Stewart, demonstrating the Queensland Government’s vegetation management laws strike the right balance between conservation and the ability of landholders to maintain their properties.

In the same week the Queensland Conservation Council used the same SLATS report but put forward its concerns over the report’s findings.

Queensland Conservation Council nature campaigner Natalie Frost said hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest are still being lost every year,

“It’s heartbreaking,” Ms Frost said.

“Deforestation is still having a devastating impact on the habitat of the creatures we love in Queensland, with koalas, gliders and quolls all pushed to the brink of extinction.”

Are these opposing reactions to the report, factual, bias, propaganda or do they both raise valid points?

Readers will make their own judgements.

The SLATS report can be read by searching for ‘2021– 22 SLATS Report’ online.

This article appeared in  On Our Selection News, 25 July 2024.