What Cassy says about foxes

HANSARD
Tasmanian Greens MHA, Cassy O’Connor has told the Minister David Llewellyn that she will make sure that Federal Environment minister, Peter Garrett and the Rudd government listens to Tasmania on foxes.
Tuesday 18 August 2009, Hansard (Excerpt):

Ms O’CONNOR: Given the fact of hundreds of sightings between 2002 and the present – and the Fox Task Force regards at least 20 per cent of those sightings as excellent – given the fact that four fox carcasses were found over the life of the Fox Eradication project, given all this evidence and the indisputable threat to our biodiversity, you would think that the Rudd Government would come to the party financially and support the work of the Fox Eradication Program, but no. Minister Llewellyn and I had a discussion about this earlier today and I believe he was sincere in expressing a concern about the Commonwealth’s manifest failure to accept its responsibility to help protect Tasmania’s unique wildlife.

The absolutely vital work of the Fox Eradication branch is now seriously threatened by the Commonwealth’s decision to reject the Tasmanian Government’s request for a $2.8 million cash injection this year and instead hand over $1 million this financial year, with no justification and only for one year, so there is absolutely no certainty about a continuation of funding. Madam Deputy Speaker, I put it to you that that is a manifest failure of the Commonwealth to exercise its duty of care to protect native species in Australia. It is simply not enough. The Commonwealth has made no apparent justification for giving so little money and has never, as far as I know, explained how it thinks that $1 million could possibly be enough for the Fox Eradication Program to undertake this critical work.

It is very clear that now is not the time for either the Commonwealth or State government to penny-pinching on the work to eradicate foxes in Tasmania. In fact, if anything, we should be increasing the resources to the Fox Eradication Program to support the excellent work that they have done. I would like to note at this point that the Fox Eradication Program and the people who are working with it have been very open and transparent about their work. They have engaged the Tasmanian community, they have dealt with the sceptics at every turn, and their work is to be commended. The Commonwealth must see the light.

Tasmania’s wildlife has a chance to escape the same fate of those species that were extinguished from the Australian landscape but it will not happen unless the work of the Fox Task Force is supported. The Tasmanian Government cannot take this lying down and I trust it will not. This is very serious to our biodiversity and our agricultural sector, which it is predicted would be impacted by the vicinity of $20 million a year should foxes ever become established in Tasmania. I suggest what the Tasmanian Government should be doing at this point is sending a delegation to Canberra to bang on Peter Garrett’s door and say, ‘Get real. You’re either in denial or being deliberately ignorant about the facts. Come back to the negotiating table, open up your cheque book, and we’re not going to sign a funding agreement with you until you put forward a proper funding program and accede to our request for a $2.8 million funding injection this year’. Minister, I am trying to help you with your lines for when you go banging on Peter Garrett’s door. Make sure that the funding that is allocated –

Mr Booth – You should go with him in a bipartisan delegation to Canberra.

Ms O’CONNOR – I would love to travel to Canberra with you, Minister, to see the Federal Environment minister. We could talk about what is happening to threatened species in Tasmania on your watch.

Mr Llewellyn – No, they won’t talk about me.

Ms O’CONNOR – I will make sure they do. This is very serious and I would like to believe that every member of this House feels the same way about the importance of making sure that the European red fox does not become established on our beautiful island of Tasmania, and that it is not allowed to wipe out those species. One very senior wildlife biologist I know has said that the extinction threat could be likened to the effects of the last ice age if European red foxes ever became established in Tasmania. Minister, I implore you to send a delegation to Canberra and get that money out of Peter Garrett. I do not know what has happened there but it is a serious issue.