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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 5285 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

Since then, many other bird species have disappeared from our region, and others have gradually shrunk back into undisturbed woodland remnants, as their primary habitat has disappeared.

The alarm bells have been ringing for our birds for a long time. More and more scientists and researchers are publicly coming out now and saying stop land clearing.

A recent national bird census conducted by Birds Australia with many volunteers like myself confirms declines in a range of bird species, especially in woodland birds in the SE of Australia.

Those of us who love nature have treasured our woodland remnants, the hills, ridges and other buffers left around our city. We have thought our reserves would be safe from development.

These inner urban remnants do provide important habitat for many species of birds, some 74 species have been recorded in the habitats along the proposed freeway route. This is roughly a third of the total bird species found in the ACT, quite a significant percentage.

These remnants also enhance the enjoyment of native birds around the gardens of Canberra residents, and many birds use these as corridors on seasonal migration, or to disperse post-breeding.

These patches have also been important refuges for some birds displaced by the January bushfires, for example, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos and Ganggangs, which lost much of their habitat. The Ganggang, the bird emblem of Canberra, is believed to be declining in our region.

This morning's Canberra Times has another excellent article by Rosslyn Beeby. I have to say, even though it makes reading the paper sadder and much more challenging, she is doing a fantastic job in raising these issues and I commend the Canberra Times for running the articles. I will quote from one that appeared on Saturday, 29 November, regarding the situation with remnant woodlands. The article reads:

Earlier this week, more than four hundred Australian biological scientists signed a declaration calling for governments to end clearing of native bushland throughout the country.

Known as the Brigalow Declaration after an area in Queensland where wildlife is being devastated by clearing, the document stated that the large-scale destruction of native bushland was one of the biggest threats to biodiversity in Australia, with more than 500,000 hectares being cleared every year.

The letter has been sent to Prime Minister Howard and to Queensland Premier Peter Beattie and will be circulated to all governments to show the extent of scientific concern.

The author of the declaration, ecologist Professor Hugh Possingham, told the Canberra Times that, while many farmers were now saving native bushland on their properties, clearing for urban development had become "the single biggest threat"to native plants and animals in many areas...

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