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Environmental threats

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Darrell Pitt is spokesman for the Maribyrnong River Wildlife Protection group, which has formed in response to the deaths of three swans.

Of this family of seven swans in the inner west, just two are left. Locals say fishers are to blame

On a mild Saturday morning, five of Melbourne’s ecological groups convened a kind of emergency cabinet meeting. One item was at the top of their agenda: swans.

  • Cassandra Morgan

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The shot-hole borer attacks living trees by farming fungus.

WA is spending another $4.8m to manage the shot-hole borer. Councils say it’s ‘deeply concerning’

The 2026-27 state budget promised a further $4.8 million to help manage the pest over the next four years. Local governments say that is nowhere near enough.

  • Holly Thompson
Let’s stick together: how penguins avoid the deep freeze.

Humanity’s endangered, so let’s take a tip from the penguins

In 500 years from now, what will they say about us? Did we dare to choose courage over silence?

  • Natalie Kyriacou
Santos, one of the largest Australian oil and gas companies, said the EDO’s injunctions against its Barossa project near Darwin cost it more than $1 million a day.

Taxpayers ‘deserve better’: Labor puts top climate lawyers on notice

The government is warning the Environmental Defenders Office it risks losing its funding after a series of high-profile court cases against a major gas producer.

  • Mike Foley and Nick Toscano
Fire ants were first recorded at the Port of Brisbane in 2001.

Fire ant eradication attempts may be helping the invaders, study finds

Mass pesticides could be killing the ants’ predators and wasting millions of dollars, according to a new study on the contentious national program.

  • Julius Dennis
Sterling K Brown as agent Xavier Collins, who leaves the bunker in search of his wife in season 2 of Paradise.

This lo-fi sci-fi series is The Truman Show for our times – and all the more disturbing

Starring Sterling K. Brown, Paradise is a thriller in which the post-apocalyptic world looks a lot like our own.

  • Karl Quinn
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Squaky Beach, with its sparkling torquoise water and glistening white sand, is one of Australia’s top beaches.

This beach was crowned Australia’s best. Is it being ‘loved to death’?

An increasing number of Australian natural wonders have become so popular, so rapidly, authorities are being forced to consider limiting public access to them. 

  • Bianca Hall
A cane toad (Rhinella marina) in a shallow pond in Boondall Wetlands.

What to do if you find a cane toad in your backyard

The community is being asked to collect, euthanise and hand in the destructive pests as part of the annual Great Cane Toad Bust.

  • Dominique Tassell
Unprocessed long-spined sea urchins.

Can we eat our way out of this thorny problem? This team thinks so

A rapid spread of millions of sea urchins is threatening vital kelp forests, which remove pollutants from water.

  • Bianca Hall
Lyngbya in Moreton Bay near Sandstone Point.

Choked by algae decades ago, the risk of a Moreton Bay bloom is rising

A huge surge in nutrients dumped in the bay over the past decade has provided the perfect food for an algal bloom, which experts say is imminent.

  • Julius Dennis