The Canberra Grassland Earless Dragon is a critically endangered species. Photo: Facebook/ACT Government.
The ACT’s Sustainability and Environment Commissioner is investigating the controversial Canberra Airport northern road project and how it can impact the future of the critically endangered Canberra Grassland Earless Dragon.
The statutory investigation was launched off the back of a complaint made to the commission, the contents of which are not known.
But the project has drawn the ire of conservationists who have argued the road will be a death sentence for the little reptile.
Sustainability and Environment Commissioner Maxine Cooper said the investigation would be “incredibly complex” due to the project intersecting Commonwealth and ACT land and no particular terms of reference had been set.
However she confirmed it would look into the northern road project, its approval conditions, variations and processes, transparency and how it interacted with the Northern Road Operational Strategy 2020.
“We’re going to be asking questions like: are the conditions achieveable? How are they being achieved? And are they ones that will ultimately protect the dragon?” Ms Cooper said.
The investigation would also look more broadly at the dragon’s habitat across the ACT, how it was being managed, and what future-proofing considerations were being developed.
“[We’re] putting all the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle together to hopefully add our bit to how to help things go forward in a positive way,” Ms Cooper said.
It’s hoped the investigation report will be ready in the first half of 2026.
ACT Greens deputy leader Jo Clay expressed her relief the investigation would particularly review the approval conditions given to the airport.
“Our dragons are on the brink of extinction and we’ve seen government continue to choose development over saving the dragon,” she said.
“Given the Federal Labor Government has promised no new extinctions on their watch, it is still a mystery to me why they gave the airport the green light to push the dragons further to extinction by destroying one of the last few remaining habitats.
“This investigation will not only help point out what we need to do to save these uniquely Canberra reptiles from extinction but also draw a conclusion about whether the approval conditions on the road actually protect the dragon.”
Ms Clay said a longer-term plan for the dragons was “sorely needed” and expressed her hope the ACT Government would at least consider what it could do to protect the reptiles on the land it had control over.
“These habitats are incredibly rich ecosystems and home to a lot of our native wildlife – but most aren’t protected,” she said.
“Already this year we have seen the ACT Labor Government side with developers over protecting ecologically vital grasslands – at Ainslie Volcanics – and last term calling in development on Bluetts Block, which government then reversed and protected following community outrage.
“The Greens look forward to the report and urge the ACT Labor Government to take it seriously and respond in a way that puts people and planet over developers.”
Ms Cooper also expressed her desire for the ACT Government to be more proactive with its funding when it came to this “critical” species.
“You’re actually going to need to do some on-the-ground activities for its habitat, you’re actually going to need to do some breeding activities,” she said.
“We’ve really got to look long term for something as critically important [and endangered] as this.”
