Page 2854 - Week 10 - Thursday, 7 October 2021
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This is no small undertaking. Namadgi National Park, the largest of the conservation areas, covers over 46 per cent of the territory. Namadgi protects the upper Cotter River catchment, which is a major source of our drinking water, and is also part of the 1.6-million-hectare network of reserves known as the Australian Alps national parks. The snow gum woodlands, subalpine fens and bogs, grasslands and montane forest communities in Namadgi provide habitat for a diverse range of species. I have long advocated for the protection of Namadgi National Park from threats to its survival, as a critical habitat. In the past few years, the very survival of the park has been threatened by fire and by climate change.
We have also seen, of course, the terrible effect of invasive species, particularly large mammals like horses, deer and pigs. Recently, the Parks and Conservation Service undertook an aerial control program for these species, using thermal imaging technology, which I am pleased to report was successful. As well as pigs and deer, this program found and removed horses from Namadgi National Park. I have spoken in this place many times about the danger that feral horses pose to Namadgi National Park and our water catchment in the ACT. I was extremely proud to have delivered the Namadgi National Park feral horse management plan in September of last year and continue to be involved in the implementation of this plan in our treasured Namadgi.
I have also spoken many times about my concern with the approach taken by the New South Wales government to feral horse management. I am pleased to see that work on a new plan in New South Wales is progressing and hope that we can work together to achieve a good outcome for our region. I trust that, now that Mr Barilaro has left politics, this work will be guided by scientific experts and not personality politics. This is a step in the right direction, but there is still more to be done to protect our National Park and our water catchment. Just as Mr Barilaro has been consigned to history, so too must his Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act 2018. I hope the new Liberal government in New South Wales repeals this act quickly. Feral horses do not belong in national parks.
Most Canberrans are fortunate to live close to nature in our bush capital. Many of us place a high value on the recreational opportunities that all of the Canberra Nature Park has to offer, and visitation to the reserves has increased dramatically since COVID-19 disrupted our lives over 18 months ago. Tidbinbilla, in the foothills of the mountain ranges, is a great place to view native Australian wildlife in a natural setting within an easy drive from the city. Apart from the diverse vegetation communities within the reserve, Tidbinbilla is home to some significant research into the conservation biology of a number of threatened species, including the brush-tailed rock wallaby and the northern corroboree frog.
More recently, Tidbinbilla has played an important role in our species reintroduction program at the Mulligans Flat and Goorooyarroo Woodland experiment. Canberra Nature Park is also very important for biodiversity protection. Over one-third of the park supports critically endangered yellow box-red gum grassy woodland and approximately 10 per cent supports critically endangered natural temperate grassland or habitat of threatened grassland animals and plants. It is also home to numerous other threatened and rare or uncommon plant and animal species.
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