In a new Quarterly Essay, Joëlle Gergis says that while Rome wasn’t built in a day, the Albanese government’s lack of action on climate change does not reflect the urgency of the crisisFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastAlthough the 2022 federal election ushered...

Numbers of the Australian native fish have grown from 1,000 to 5,000 in eight years, and Queensland has now declared its habitat a special wildlife reserveSign up for the Rural Network email newsletterJoin the Rural Network group on Facebook to be part of the communityThe red-finned blue-eye is no longer Australia’s rarest freshwater fish.The last of...

Two species grown in ponds in large-scale attempt to restore UK seagrass meadows, 90% of which have been lostIt is a much-loved stretch of Celtic coastline, revered by poetry lovers as the place where Dylan Thomas lived his final years and by thrill seekers as a spot for breaking land-speed records.Now between Thomas’s boathouse home at Laugharne and...

From plant names to notions of native species, many aspects of the natural world are shaped by empire. We need to decolonise, says the author of a new book – but not all experts agreeWhen Banu Subramaniam thinks about whether plants should be renamed so as not to honour white supremacist colonialists – Cecil Rhodes, for example, is commemorated in the...

Species once view as a threat are undergoing a horticultural reassessment and being hailed for their resilience and beauty across the UKWeeds are undergoing a cultural makeover. Historically vilified as a threat in a nation of impeccable lawns, they are finally being embraced by gardeners, from front gardens to the Chelsea flower show.The conservation...

With elections affecting half the world’s population this year, campaigners offer their views on the chances of real changeThis year elections are taking place across the globe, covering almost half of the world’s population. It is also likely to be, yet again, the hottest year recorded as the climate crisis intensifies. The Guardian asked young climate...