Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's always a pleasure to speak in this debate. Tonight I want to focus on some positive news. We are blessed to live in such a wonderful country abundant in natural beauty and rich history—so much so that it's instilled in our national anthem. Our lands really do abound in nature's gifts of beauty rich and rare. Sadly, over the past few months we've seen the forces that have shaped this beautiful land—drought, fire and flooding rains. Across my electorate of Forde, we've been fortunate to have missed out on the things that others have suffered deeply over the last few months.

In my electorate of Forde we're truly blessed with a diverse range of landscapes and rich natural beauty, from the Gold Coast hinterland with its sweeping views out to Moreton Bay to the Logan and Albert rivers that begin their long and winding journey in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range, and the Pimpama and Coomera rivers that bring life, energy and pleasure to the towns and cities on their way to Moreton Bay. Our environment is one of our greatest assets, if not our greatest asset, and is unfortunately greatly underappreciated more often than not. However, the people of Forde can rest assured that I will continue to focus on delivering environmental outcomes for our community and be one of the great champions in this House for the local environment. Whether it is the critically endangered Ormeau bottle tree, the health of our rivers or the importance of protecting our ecosystems, it is not lost on me.

In part, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank a couple of people in this respect: firstly my mother, who has spent many, many years in the Gold Coast hinterland, particularly up on Mount Tamborine, with rainforest regeneration and rebuilding; but equally people like Glenn Leiper, who wrote Mangroves to Mountains, a seminal work on the endangered flora and fauna in South-East Queensland. They have contributed so much in this space over many years and decades, and should be recognised.

It is so important that we protect our environment, as there are some truly unique treasures out there, many of which most of our community wouldn't know about—treasures such as the critically endangered Ormeau bottle tree, named under the area in which it is endemic. The species only occurs naturally in the upper Ormeau Valley, along the riparian zone of the Pimpama River. Unfortunately there are only roughly 121 mature examples left of the species in the wild. The tree is truly magnificent, and I've spoken about this to many colleagues previously. Because of this, I really do believe it's my duty as the local federal member to ensure that the Ormeau bottle tree is protected, and also to work with the local community not only to protect it but to grow the number of trees that are available, similar to what happened many years ago with the Wollemi pine.

There are a number of groups and people who want to see the tree not only survive but thrive. I'd like to take the opportunity to recognise them today. Thanks to the Ormeau community, especially Friends of Ormeau Bottle Tree, for their work in getting the species listed as critically endangered way back in 2013, which has seen the species get greater recognition for protection. Thanks to Sue Durance from the Northeast Albert Landcare. Sue has been a member of the Landcare group for over 25 years, has a wealth of knowledge about the local environment and works with other groups in the area on conservation and rehabilitation projects. Thanks to Conservation Volunteers Australia, who are working on rehabilitating the Yugambeh site on the Albert River, clearing weeds and replanting native vegetation. Thanks to Rivermount College, who are busy restoring their river walk, for the work they're doing there on weed control and revegetation along the Albert River, including the Ormeau bottle tree.

All these wonderful groups are working hard to ensure that the Ormeau bottle tree has a chance to survive the greatest threats to the species, which are weeds and fire. The juvenile plants struggle to grow when they're competing with weeds such as lantana for food and water, not to mention the fact that the weeds also pose a bushfire risk and can devastate whole populations of the species. That's why we have funded a number of projects, including $100,000, for the Ormeau Bottle Tree Project, which found 121 mature trees and over 450 juvenile trees in the area, a significant increase over previous years. I know from speaking with Sue Durance last week that one of the major mature Ormeau bottle trees in the Pimpama River valley has recently fruited for the first time in 25 years. This goes to show the positive impact that local action and advocacy can have on our local environment.

There are more ways than one to have a positive impact on the environment. The students at Upper Coomera State College have already diverted over 200,000 plastic bottles from landfill thanks to four new water bottle refill stations. These stations were funded by a $13,000 grant from the Morrison government's Local Schools Community Fund. This project is great for the environment and builds on the government's waste reduction targets set out in the National Waste Policy Action Plan 2019. Through this project, the school is able to contribute to less plastic waste going to landfill and polluting our waterways.

At Beenleigh State High School, the students are conducting a waste management STEM project that secured $18,500 in funding from the government. It was a joy to visit the students there with the Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management, the honourable Trevor Evans, because they worked so hard to get this project underway. They've researched, surveyed, and collated data to present at an upcoming STEAM into STEM Enabled Schools event, where they will be recommending improved waste management strategies at local high schools. I commend them for having the passion and determination for reducing waste, as we all know that reducing our waste is one of the best ways we can help the environment.

Marsden State High School's community garden also got a boost with the addition of composting bays, thanks to a $6,949 grant from the Communities Environment Program, so that they can turn trash—or, in this case, food scraps—into treasure: compost. The garden will be situated in a dedicated waste compound and recycling centre, which is a project within the school to reduce not only their carbon footprint but also the waste going to landfill. Already 85 per cent of the school's waste has been saved from landfill, and the addition of composting bays will increase this figure even further while producing high-quality fertiliser for the gardens.

I'd also like to give a shout-out to the team at Golden Gate Property Group for the work they're doing on their new Carver's Reach development at Park Ridge, where they're seeking to regrow and plant out the endangered Bailey's cypress pine, which is endemic to the Park Ridge area. It is one of a number of plants across Logan that are recognised as threatened or endangered. Logan City Council, in this space, has done a tremendous amount of work to produce a document that outlines many of these terrific plants, including the Bahrs Scrub devil's needles; the birdwing butterfly vine, which is the only vine that the birdwing butterfly will breed on and is classified as rare; and the Bahrs Scrub croton, which is another small tree from around the Bahrs Scrub area. These and many other plants across Logan are recognised as threatened and endangered, and Logan City Council is doing a tremendous job of trying to ensure they're protected for future generations.

It never ceases to amaze me that everywhere I go in my community people are constantly talking about the environment. Australians have a natural connection to the place in which we live and want to see not only that our environment becomes a better place for current generations but that we leave something better for future generations. We talk regularly about the importance of continuing to improve our environment. I want to thank all of those in my community who are so committed to being part of the numerous community organisations that do such a wonderful job to improve the quality of our environment and increase its ability to regenerate and grow, leaving an inheritance for the long term.