'Alarming' rise in Queensland tree clearing as 400,000 hectares stripped

Deputy premier brands Australia 'deforestation hotspot' after a 45% jump in her state's reef catchment clearingQueensland underwent a dramatic surge in tree clearing - with the heaviest losses in Great Barrier Reef catchments - in the year leading up to the Palaszczuk government's thwarted bid to restore protections.Figures released on Thursday showed a 33% rise in clearing to almost 400,000 hectares in 2015-16, meaning Queensland now has two-thirds the annual rate of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Continue reading...