Leading environmental and ecological scientists will join me for a round table at Parliament House, Canberra today to canvass strategies on wildlife and habitat recovery in response to the summer’s bushfire crisis.
The Morrison Government is providing $50 million as an initial response to Australia’s ecological tragedy, with key funding priorities being guided by an Expert Panel under Threatened Species Commissioner Dr Sally Box.
A series of Ministerial roundtable meetings will provide important policy feedback and assist the Expert Panel in its immediate and long-term work.
Today’s meeting will include: the Chair of the Threatened Species Committee, Professor Helene Marsh (JCU), Ayesha Tulloch (Ecological Society of Australia), Brendan Wintle (Threatened Species Research Hub Leader), Dr Pep Canadell (Earth Systems Climate Change Hub, CSIRO), Professor David Lindenmayer Threatened Species Research Hub Deputy), Professor Chris Dickman (Threatened Species Research Hub), Assoc Professor Mark Lintermans (Freshwater Fisheries and Ecology Management), Professor Ross Bradstock (Director, Centre for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires University Wollongong), Natasha Robinson (National Environmental Science Program, Threatened Species Research Hub), Marta Yebra (ANU), Linda Broadhurst (Director, Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research), Dr Lidia Guja (Manager, National Seed Bank), Professor Kingsley Dixon (Threatened Species Scientific Committee), Robert Hill (Executive Dean, Faculty of Sciences University Adelaide), Ana-Maria Arabia (CE, Australian Academy of Science), Judy West (Ag/Director of National Parks), Nicholas Macgregor (Science Manager Parks Australia).
This is the third-round table to date. Previous meetings have included non-government environmental organisations and land managers.
The Morrison Government has already announced funding for major zoos to support treatment and recovery programs, the funding of feral predator and pest control through natural resource managers and assistance for wildlife rescue volunteers.
