Eyre Peninsula Habitat Protected from Rocket Launch Plans

Conservation groups have welcomed an 11th‑hour decision to shield the Eyre Peninsula from plans to build a rocket‑launching facility, citing the area’s importance for endangered birds. The peninsula is described as “precious and important” habitat for the southern emu‑wren and hosts 80 % of the mallee whipbird population.

The proposed Whalers Way “orbital launch complex” would have allowed up to 42 rockets a year to take off from conservation land, and the project had already been approved under federal and state planning and environment laws. The new decision reverses that approval and protects the critical bird habitats on the Eyre Peninsula.