The ACT Legislative Assembly has today backed community calls for ACT Government to better protect Canberra’s nature, after Greens MLA Jo Clay brought a motion on the matter.
The successful motion comes after numerous land carers publicly called for better nature protections.
“The ACT Legislative Assembly has today taken a step in the right direction in passing this motion”, said Jo Clay, ACT Greens member for Ginninderra and ACT Greens spokesperson for Parks and Conservation.
“Our land carer groups have long called for better protection for Canberra’s parks and habitat.
“But two recent community petitions seeking better protection for the Ainslie Volcanics and Callum Brae were recently refused, in part because Government said they did not have the resources to look after new areas. We do not have clear criteria about what we should protect and we do not have the resources we need to look after the land.
“I understand that funding for urban rangers dropped from $1.34M in 2018-19 to $1.28 million this year. At the same time, we’re experiencing a climate crisis and an extinction crisis. We must do better.
“We’re seeing more pressure on our urban parks and habitat from development, weeds and pests. We need to better protect our wildlife and urban parks in their own right, and for our children. Once they’re gone, they’re gone forever. That’s why I’m calling on the Assembly for better protection for our land and a clearer understanding of what we need to protect.”
As stated by Sarah Sharp, Kuringa Woodland Landcare Group
“Only 33% of critically endangered grassland and grassy woodland remnants are in our ACT reserve system,” said Sarah Sharp. “The rest of the sites occur in urban parks, along roadsides, on leased land and on national land. The Conservation Council and Friends of Grasslands are proposing Government and community work together to protect, maintain and link important conservation areas across the landscape, while retaining complementary land uses. We fully support Ms Clay’s proposal to better protect Canberra’s nature.”
As stated by Elle Lawless, Director for the Conservation Council
“Canberra is home to incredible wildlife but nature in Canberra and Australia is in trouble,” said Elle Lawless, Executive Director for the Conservation Council. “The wildlife and the places we love are under threat from a warming climate, deforestation, over development, and roads and infrastructure fragmenting habitats.”
“The Conservation Council fully supports stronger protection for Canberra’s natural spaces. Ngununggula/ Bluetts Block is a haven for diverse plants and animals that we are lucky to have here in Canberra. Formally declaring areas like this as nature reserves will protect the home of our local threatened species including the Gang-gang cockatoo and Pink-tailed Worm-lizard. What we do here in the ACT has far reaching consequences to prevent extinctions nationally.”
“We are in the midst of a biodiversity crisis with Australia already leading the world on the extinction of mammals, our local threatened species need their habitats protected.
“Urban development is a key threat to habitat. The urban fringe including roads, light and noise impact negatively on wildlife. Without space to breed, forage and nest, our local wildlife will decline and become extinct. “
