WWF has welcomed ongoing funding for key environmental programs but warned that Australian species would continue to go extinct without increased investment in future budgets.

Australia has a terrible record of extinction, with at least 27 mammals and 23 birds lost. To halt extinctions future budgets would need to go beyond the current 0.5% expenditure to the environment.

WWF-Australia Director of Conservation Dr Gilly Llewellyn said she was disappointed the government had delayed by one year the promised increase in overseas development aid, and failed to implement rumoured cuts to diesel fuel rebate and accelerated depreciation.

“Failure to keep the promise to increase overseas development aid means that critical assistance for struggling communities to adapt to climate change and foster ecosystem resilience will not be forthcoming,” Dr Llewellyn said.

“The Government could have cut inefficient expensive fossil fuel subsidies and reinvested this money to assist our neighbours to adapt to and mitigate climate change.

“The Government has missed an opportunity to show real leadership at the upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio, where on the agenda is calls to remove environmentally harmful subsidies.”

WWF welcomed new money to implement reforms to the Environmental Protection Act but remain concerned about the ‘cutting green tape’ rhetoric and warned state and federal governments not to confuse streamlining with delivering more effective regulation.