Environment department tried to bury research that found huge underspend on Australian threatened species

Exclusive: Briefing note prepared for a meeting with government-funded scientists suggested they don't publish the paper'

The federal government tried to stop the publication of an academic paper that found it needed to drastically increase its spending on threatened Australian wildlife.

Internal documents released to Guardian Australia under freedom of information laws show senior officials in the federal environment department spent months pressuring the scientists from the government-funded Threatened Species Recovery Hub.