Page 3810 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 19 September 2018
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Mr Iglesias made it clear that in the ACT, if horses were caught in ACT traps, they would be humanely destroyed. He also suggested that it might be appropriate for the ACT Parks and Conservation Service to sit down with their New South Wales colleagues and talk about how they should manage this issue in light of the changed legislation. Surely that is a far better approach than Ms Cheyne’s call for this Assembly to “condemn the NSW Government’s reckless legislation”.
I note a suggestion in the Canberra Times today from Minister Gentleman that helicopter shooting might be considered. The outrage about the culling of brumbies in New South Wales national parks which led to this new legislation was a result of some very inhumane outcomes of helicopter shooting, so I sincerely hope it was merely a case of Mr Gentleman having a thought bubble. If it was the case, the minister should think long and hard about the impact of his words. I myself would prefer to rely on the advice and professionalism of Mr Iglesias to make such decisions if or when they were needed.
I am sure that this Assembly criticising the New South Wales government would be of little interest or concern to the New South Wales government. The minister for the environment advised the estimates hearings that he had written to the Deputy Premier, Mr Barilaro. Only last week, I wrote a follow-up letter to the minister to ask whether the Deputy Premier had replied to his letter. The minister conveniently replied yesterday. Like so many responses we get from ministers in this place, it was not particularly informative. But hey, we got a response, so small wins.
It seems that the minister is happy to be a lot more forthcoming to the Canberra Times. The article today refers to a letter Mr Gentleman received from the New South Wales environment minister, Gabrielle Upton, who acknowledged that there was evidence suggesting that brumbies were impacting on the environmental values of Kosciuszko National Park. Ms Upton insisted in the letter that finding a balance between protecting the environment and the heritage value of the brumbies was challenging, but possible. Ms Upton said:
The new NSW legislation provides the framework for delivering this balanced outcome. …
The Act requires a wild horse heritage management plan be prepared that will identify where and how sustainable wild horse populations can be maintained.
Where populations need to be reduced, capture and rehoming will be a priority and fertility control methods investigated.
I have confidence in the hardworking ACT parks and conservation rangers who preserve the Cotter catchment area and make sure that the natural environment that we rely on stays as it should be.
It is disappointing that Ms Cheyne is ignoring other parts of the legislation and broader policy. The New South Wales government is allocating resources towards relocation, and should the population numbers of the horses increase too much, resources will also be put towards rehoming. It is disappointing, but not surprising,
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