Canberra grassland earless dragon now critically endangered, five others endangered in the ACT

The Canberra grassland earless dragon is now considered critically endangered, and the gang-gang cockatoo, mountain skink, southern greater glider, koala and the Key's matchstick grasshopper are endangered.

The golden sun moth and yellow-bellied glider have also been assessed and are now listed as vulnerable on the list.

Environment Minister Rebecca Vassarotti said the ACT government was committed to protecting and conserving our native animals.

"Our environment is under threat like never before. This news largely reflects the significant loss of habitat for our native animals during the devastating 2020 bushfires," she said.

"We are in the middle of an extinction crisis and we have a responsibility to protect our ecosystem and the native wildlife that we're so lucky to have here in Canberra.

"The ACT scientific committee has prepared conservative advice to lead the work of early intervention for these species and help them in their fight for survival."

Ms Vassarotti, who is also the Minister for Sustainable Building and Construction, told ABC radio there were likely many difficult decisions ahead around territory expansion to serve the growing population, and to maintain enough natural habitat for these endangered species.

A current proposal for the Canberra Airport to build a new road to the northern side "will likely see species extinct" as it lies on some if the limited remaining temperate grasslands for the grassland earless dragon.

She said there is a lot of investment going into the insurance population of the species at Tidbinbilla.

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"We shouldn't be trading off one crisis to solve another," she said.

Chair of the ACT scientific committee Professor Arthur Georges said it is the responsibility of the ACT to look after these species.

"These listings are incredibly important, because they bring the ACT onto the same page as the Australian government and the states. This enables a coordinated effort to stem the declines in these threatened species," he said.

"As important is the need for up-to-date listings of our valued native species in decline, some of which have the ACT as their last refuge; the Canberra grassland earless dragon being an exemplary case.

"We have a special responsibility to stem and reverse the declines of our threatened species, and these listings place the species firmly on the government's agenda for formulating and implementing effective action on the ground to avoid further extinction of our iconic flora and fauna."

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