Rabbit control funding dries up despite damning environment report

The State of the Environment Report, which was kept secret by the previous government, revealed Australia's environment is rapidly deteriorating, with exotic pests one of the large contributing factors.

More than 300 threatened native plants and animals are affected by rabbits, the most of any invasive species, and cost agriculture $217m annually in lost productivity, with 10 to 12 rabbits eating the equivalent of one sheep.

Despite the oversized footprint of rabbits, the federal government is yet to renew funding for the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions' successful rabbit control program.

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CISS chief executive Andreas Glanznig said rabbits consume a lot of the vegetation available to native animals and created a major prey source for foxes and cats.

"A 30 year monitoring program in South Australia found the biggest factor in marsupial recovery was rabbit biocontrol," he said.

"It takes rabbits out of the ecosystem, removing competition but more importantly leads to a collapse in feral cat and fox numbers."

Rabbit Free Australia chair Wayne Meyer said the work CISS had done, particularly with the K5 virus, was outstanding.

"Right now is the time we should be doubling down on rabbit control, because populations are low after the drought we had," Mr Meyer said.

"But instead we're removing funding. We've had a prolonged period of wet conditions, and you can be surge there will be a massive surge in rabbit numbers as a result."

The State of the Environment report found Australia has lost more mammal species than any other continent and continues to have one of the highest rates of species decline among developed countries, with 202 plant and animal species added as threatened species since 2016.

Australia also now has more foreign plant species than native and at least 19 ecosystems are showing signs of collapse or near collapse.

Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek pledged to increase Australia's national estate to 30 per cent of the country's land mass by the end of the decade.

The Albanese government will also double the number of Indigenous Rangers to 3800 by 2030 and expand Indigenous protected areas.

"If we don't turn this around, if we stay on this trajectory, our planet will be worse for our kids," Ms Plibersek said.