Dick, that's about the size of it. Everything is protected and untouchable, until a new massive highway plan, major subdivision, rail line, or mining expansion is produced - then it's O.K. to wipe out a million hectares of pristine vegetation or fine stands of trees.
Not sure about the other states, but here on the left coast, you can be fined serious amounts for cutting down any trees on your own property. You need extensive planning permission and approvals to carry out any vegetation removal, anywhere.
It's gone from one extreme to the other. In the 1960's we had a state development minister who bragged about "clearing a million acres a year" for farm development. I dare not even mention in casual conversation today that I was part of that - one immediately becomes a social pariah, treated as if you just admitted you were a pedo.
We dragged a chain between dozers, clearing up to 1000 acres a day. Yes, that's right, 1000 acres (247Ha) a day of native vegetation, often huge, magnificent trees, was totally flattened.
It's still happening in QLD today and it enrages the conservationists and greenies to screaming outrage.
You've seen the bitterness that land clearing fights provokes, with the murder of the land protection officer in NSW by the angry old farmer.
I do personally believe that clearing restrictions and controls are very important. In the 1960's it was just open slather, and even then, I didn't agree with quite a few of the clearing requests put to me by farmers - such as leaving nothing for shade or shelter - but I was just doing a job and operating under their instructions.
Many paid for their bad decisions later, with salt encroachment on cleared land, and stock deaths during cold snaps.
The semi-desert country such as Marree deserves special protection, because it's an environment where vegetation is thin, slow to grow, slow to recover from damage, and easily wiped out.
Very few people understand that even just sweeping the fallen leaves and bark from underneath many semi-desert trees will kill them. They rely on that fallen bark and leaves to preserve the tiny amounts of moisture that gathers there, that they rely on to survive.
Then we have the substantially increasing numbers of four-wheel-drivers who "need to go bush". They all need a massive campfire, so the vegetation suffers as the trees are damaged to get firewood.
These people will carry on about the desertification of 3rd world countries as the natives kill every tree to get firewood - and they fail to understand they are doing the same to Australia!
We need a lot more education amongst the general public as to just how fragile our native flora is, in low-rainfall areas.