House debates
Thursday, 15 May 2014
Constituency Statements
Environment: Grey-Headed Flying Fox
9:39 am
Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source
I begin by recognising the participants of the Rotary Adventure in Citizenship who have joined us in the Federation Chamber today. It is terrific to see so many young people in the chamber and I look forward to catching up with some of the participants later on this afternoon.
My concerns today are in relation to a population of grey-headed flying foxes which are roosting alongside a residential area in Bairnsdale in my electorate of Gippsland. I want to highlight some concerns with the extraordinarily slow process to achieve any prospect of resolution for the nearby residents, who have had their quality of life and overall health impacted by this colony of flying foxes over several years. Over the past three years, I have been involved with correspondence to the former federal ministers and the local East Gippsland Shire Council trying to raise residents' concerns and resolve this problem for them.
The reason it has been so difficult to get a result is that the grey-headed flying fox is listed as an endangered or threatened species under the EPBC Act. This week, I have written to the new Minister for the Environment to seek his support in reviewing that status. I believe more research is required into the grey-headed flying fox populations in our nation. From anecdotal reports, this species is causing problems right along the east coast of Australia, where it impacts on residential communities, school communities and public places. There are many sites, and, from a layman's perspective, given the prevalence of the grey-headed flying fox and the impact it is having on communities, I find it hard to believe that it is that endangered or that rare.
My constituents have been extraordinarily patient as they have gone through this process with the development of draft plans, and the wheels of bureaucracy have turned remarkably slowly. We need a one-stop shop for environmental approvals for activities such as this. But the residents have had enough. They have formed their own National Bat Solution Group. I quote from a media release sent out last week:
Following years of intolerable conditions and struggle to deal with the tens of thousands of bats now seasonally taking up residence for up to 8 months of the year, an established group of residents in Bairnsdale are stepping up their efforts and going national.
The comments from people who have written to my office include:
From an immediate health perspective, the constant 24/7 noise and putrid air quality, both of which exceed … OH&S standards, have put many residents in a state of constant ill-health.
Another states:
Enough is enough if I don't get a full night's sleep soon I'm likely to kill someone.
Between the dog barking at the bats, the incessant noise and the stink from bats I can't put up with it any more.
And another states:
On our regular early Sunday walk this morning the noise was massive and the smell was putrid as usual, and it extended throughout the CBD. With rain forecast in the imminent future one wonders how much worse the sickening smell can get.
This is a big issue for the people in the immediate community but also for the nation as a whole. I will be working with the Minister for the Environment. I thank his staff for the support they have provided already in support of the National Bat Solution Group and the East Gippsland Shire Council in their efforts to seek a review of the conservation status of the flying foxes and to seek changes to both state and federal legislation to allow some balance in this debate so that the rights of people are well considered and there is some more balance in terms of the dispersal of flying foxes from some of these residential areas and these large roosting sites.
Comments
Sue Lofthouse
Posted on 18 May 2014 1:28 pm
When I heard that residents of Bairnsdale were callng for the dispersal of a colony of grey-headed flying foxes, I decided to visit the colony to see for myself the impact that they may be having.
When I arrived at about 4pm, I saw an elderly couple having a picnic directly underneath one of the trees in which the flying foxes were roosting. Assuming that they must have been "pro-bat" I approached them to ask what they thought about them. They were totally unaware that they were sitting beneath a colony of flying foxes until I pointed it out to them. This makes me wonder whether some residents may be overstating the problem due to a lack of knowledge or fear.
Cairns has had a resident colony of flying foxes in the city centre for over thirty years. They published a fact sheet to inform residents about the animals:
http://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/416...
Perhaps the East Gippsland Shire Council can disseminate a similar document?
If the council decides to attempt to disperse the colony I hope that due consideration will be given to alternative roosting areas and general animal welfare (especially towards dependant young). I assume that the relevent scientific studies will be undertaken or consulted before commencement. The council should be mindful of the failure of such programs in other shires before committing funds.
Rather than dispersing the colony during its seasonal residence and causing them stress and disruption, may I suggest that measures be explored to deter the animals from taking roost at all before the season begins.
Personally, I would love to see the flying foxes left alone. When living in far north-west Queensland, we had a colony tree in our yard and we thoroughly enjoyed their presence. Anyone who has had the privilege of caring for an orphaned or injured flying fox will agree that they are delightful, intelligent animals. Their invaluable contribution to the ecosystem as pollinators should not be understated.
Australian wildlife is always a tourism drawcard. Rather than spend a lot of ratepayers' money to be rid of them, why not invest a little to educate the public, add to the economy and contribute to the environment.
Sue Lofthouse
Victorian Wildlife Shelter
Permit number 14359278
Charlie Schroeder
Posted on 16 May 2014 10:49 am
This is most unfair to the flying foxes, who are both endangered as well as a longer resident of Australia than the white population.
That the flying foxes have to be moved on now is in part due to the East Gippsland Shire Council who had many of the trees along the river bank removed because they were naturalised Australian rather than native trees and they now wish to remove the true natives that have been herded into the few remaining trees to roost. This is a double standard that cannot be dismissed.
We see only the negatives in the speech by Darren Chester, because there were many who would like the grey headed flying foxes left alone, even something done like the DEPI suggested. That being to build a roost area away from the houses which are at the moment affected by all the real and imagined negatives piled onto this issue. The shire should pay for some of the cost of this roost frame. This would only be fair, though nothing is fair to wildlife in this country.
Further to this, one wonders why the noise level is even mentioned and used as a reason to move the flying foxes on when the shire has never been concerned with residents complaints about traffic noise from delivery trucks and vehicles passing through the town or on what were once quiet roads in the shire.
There is another issue here. The obvious attempt to downgrade the status of the grey headed flying fox, so councils, landholders and others can do what they want, and even kill these beautiful creatures. The grey headed flying foxes are far too important to treat so badly.