Nickolas Varvaris (Barton, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Plover Appreciation Day is a day to raise awareness of the magnificent but vulnerable bird, the hooded plover, which is found along the sandy beaches of the east coast of Australia. If you have been to Brighton-Le-Sands, you may have caught a glimpse of these beautiful birds. Last Friday I met with local environmental organisations, including the Nature Conservation Council, the Mudcrabs and Places You Love alliance, who brought me a lovely cake in honour of this lovely bird. We also discussed some of the great things that Minister Hunt's office is doing to look after threatened species, including the $110 million in funding that was provided last June when Australia's first Threatened Species Strategy was launched, which provides an ambitious plan that will tackle feral cats to turn around the decline of 20 mammals by 2020 and to turn around the decline of 20 birds by 2020. The government appointed Australia's first Threatened Species Commissioner, who has brought a new national focus to threatened species and helped to mobilise funding where it is needed most. We also had an opportunity to discuss the inquiry into the Register of Environmental Organisations and, having visited a number of different environmental organisations around the country, to discuss the great work that a lot of these organisations are doing. I cherish that time with them.