Please also send it to the Minister for the Environment, Mark Butler: Mark.Butler.MP@aph.gov.au
and to the Shadow Minister for the Environment,
Greg Hunt: Greg.Hunt.MP@aph.gov.au
Greg Hunt: Greg.Hunt.MP@aph.gov.au
Find the contact details of your local candidates:
Then copy and paste this letter into an email and
send. Feel free to add your own words. Don't forget to delete these instructions!
Dear ...............
As a
constituent of .................... and a lover of Australia's native wildlife,
I wish to draw your attention to the
issue of threatened species.
The Senate Environment and Communications References Committee recently
handed down its report, 'Effectiveness of threatened species and ecological
communities' protection in Australia'.
Addressing the Committee, Mr Peter Cosier (Wentworth Group of Concerned
Scientists) said:
...biodiversity conservation is
not being taken seriously in this country. To have 1,790 [EPBC listed] species in Australia in 2013 ... suggests
it has been a complete failure.
We are all
diminished by biodiversity loss - and not just because it is our moral obligation
to save all threatened species. Professor Stephen Garnett of Charles Darwin
University has written:
..there is increasing evidence that biodiversity
loss has an influence on ecosystem service provision on a par with drought,
ozone loss, acidification and climate warming. Species conservation is an
investment in natural capital that provides enormous returns.
In other
words, without our rich heritage of living creatures and plants, our land will
gradually become unliveable for us. In addition, we should consider the
burgeoning value of nature tourism to our economy, which is immeasurably
enhanced by the presence of rare and threatened species.
Unfortunately,
it is evident that recovery plans for threatened species and ecological
communities are not implemented or given sufficient funding to be properly
implemented. A well-resourced funding stream for threatened species recovery is
crucial to the future of Australia's birds, animals and plants. BirdLife
Australia has suggested that all 20 of our critically endangered birds could be
saved with the expenditure of as little as $380,000 each. Threatened species
funding for all animals, plants and birds is currently $3 million per annum -
less than one per cent of our weekly defence budget. This is a massive
imbalance.
As a
first-world country, we must improve on our dismal record of species
extinctions. BirdLife Australia recommended to the Committee that threatened
species investment must not only be
increased, but be guaranteed over sufficiently long periods to allow recovery.
They suggested funding be provided for up to eight years at a time with
independent review and potential extension after four years.
I am gravely
worried about the future of animals like Leadbeater's Possum and the
Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby and, particularly, Australia's most endangered bird,
the Orange-bellied Parrot, which has plummeted to fewer than 50. Even worse,
ALL funding for recovery work on this parrot this summer has been discontinued.
There is no longer any state or Commonwealth funding to undertake research or
management in the parrot's Tasmanian breeding grounds. I am ashamed to live in a country with so
little regard for this priceless part of our natural world.
There is no
doubt that funds for Australia's threatened species are finite and that, for
the time being, many do not contribute to local economies. But we are
undeniably entrusted with a responsibility not to let the Orange-bellied
Parrot or any other species slip away.
I urge you
to act so that your party adopts all 44 of the Committee's recommendations, in
particular Recommendations 29 and 30:
·
that the Commonwealth government adjusts
current funding under the Biodiversity Fund and Caring for our Country to
provide targeted funding streams for threatened species and ecological
communities. This dedicated funding should include funding for implementation
of specific actions within recovery plans, conservation advices and threat abatement
plans and advices;
·
In light of the evidence that
feral animals and fire regimes are two of the biggest threats to threatened
species and communities, the committee recommends that funding programs give
high priority to on-ground projects addressing feral animals and fire regimes.
I will not
vote for the representative of a party that supports the current, inadequate status
quo. I would like you, if elected (or re-elected) to represent my views on
threatened species, and help bring about a quantum increase in threatened
species funding.
Please
answer the following questions:
1. What is your attitude to threatened species?
2. Will you act to influence Parliament to adopt the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee's recommendations on threatened species protection?
3. Will you publicly advocate for threatened species?
4. If (re)elected, will you work to strengthen and implement effective legislation and governance to ensure protection of threatened species?
5. Will you act to ensure adequate funding for all Australian threatened species, as suggested by the abovementioned Committee's recommendations?
6. How will you remedy the current suspension in funds for Orange-bellied Parrot management, research and captive-release work?
Threatened
species recovery is an important issue for me and will influence my vote. The very
existence of too many creatures is at stake, and in the 21st century, this is both
wholly preventable and most regrettable.
Thank you
for your time in responding to these questions. An early response will help me
consider your views when I decide how to vote.
