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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 6 Hansard (14 June) . . Page.. 1751 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

in the region we have a responsibility in the ACT to protect as much as of it we can to try to balance it out over the region. This may look like a paddock, but it is an ecological community of which only 5 per cent is left.

It is incredibly important that people understand. They may not think it is as exciting or glamorous looking as a forest, but there is life dependent on that ecological community. That life will become extinct if that ecological community becomes extinct. We have 5 per cent left in the region. We have more than that in the ACT, but we have to take responsibility for the broader region if we have an ethical approach to conservation. You cannot just look at lines on a map and say, "We are doing okay here." We have to take responsibility for the whole area.

Yellow box/redgum grassy woodland is a declared endangered ecological community. There is a difference of view about the form of the understorey, but I will talk to that later. Woodland was the characteristic vegetation covering 25 per cent of the Australian continent. However, since European occupation this woodland has been severely degraded because of clearing for farming activities. In south-east New South Wales there is only some 5 per cent of the original yellow box/red gum woodland left. The white box woodland has been practically wiped out. Unfortunately, little-less than 1 per cent of the remaining woodland-is protected. In rural areas it is suffering from tree decline because of drought, fire, insect defoliation and limited opportunity for regeneration.

Fortunately, in the ACT there are some significant patches of remnant woodland, but there has been much fragmentation of the original woodland ecosystem, because of clearing for farming and then urban development. The action plan for grassy woodlands states that the remnant high-quality stands of woodland in the ACT are about 25 per cent of the original woodland. A further 12 per cent of modified woodlands still have a significant tree cover but have a degraded understorey.

The government makes a big issue of the fact that the area does not meet all the criteria for being classified as a grassy woodland. But this does not mean that it has no ecological value and can be bulldozed. The trees still provide important habitat for birds and other species. Some 80 species of native birds have been observed in this area, including the nationally endangered regent honeyeater and five other threatened species. There is a positive correlation between bird species diversity and increase in size of intact areas. I am concerned that the five hectares the government wants to keep as open space is too small to maintain the current species diversity.

The Watson Community Association study noted that woodland patches of over 10 hectares that are within one kilometre of other woodland areas are preferable for maintaining existing bird species. This area is less that one kilometre from the Mount Majura woodlands, but it is not big enough to prevent the loss of bird species in the north Watson area.

The government also claims that it has already protected large areas of woodland. This is good, but we know that there is very little woodland left across the whole region, as I have already said.

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