David Bushby (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Yes. I am not sure what to make of these claims. What I do know is that 50 per cent of the devil population has been wiped out in the past 10 years by the DFTD and that the disease continues to kill devils at a great rate. I suspect that the nature of transmission of the disease means there will be a slowing of its spread as devil numbers become sparser and they have fewer opportunities to interact, but that it will continue to reduce the devil population and eventually threaten its existence. As such, it is vital that the research be funded up-front and quickly, to ensure that the solution is found before it is too late.

The Rudd government may be taking a relaxed approach to the issue, but it is good to see that not everyone is. There is a nine-year-old boy in Hobart whose passion for the Tasmanian devil has resulted in tens of thousands of dollars being raised for research. Nicholas Bonnitcha—or ‘Nature Nic’, as he likes to be known—last year arranged a day at his school where all the students would wear black and white clothing and donate a gold coin to help raise money for DFTD research. Out of this grew the inaugural Black and White Day, on which Nic was able to entice the involvement of 39 Tasmanian schools and businesses and raise over $10,500. At the time Nature Nic was eight years old.