The Wilderness Society has obtained documents under freedom of information that show that the Tasmanian government is driving the endangered Swift Parrot to extinction.
Last year the Tasmanian government quietly changed its rules to allow the parrot鈥檚 breeding habitat to be destroyed by logging. They also withdrew from the Swift Parrot Recovery Team, the national multi-agency expert group tasked with saving the species. The documents also show that federal environment minister Greg Hunt has repeatedly refused to act to protect one of Australia鈥檚 most endangered animals.
The beautiful, green nectar-eater migrates to the woodlands of Southern Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria in winter. But in its Tasmanian summer breeding grounds it is under severe pressure.
There, Australian National University (ANU) scientists have found the parrots鈥 nests are being raided by predatory gliders as native forest logging reduces its habitat. Its population is believed to have crashed to only 2000 individuals.
The ANU scientists have asked the federal government to list the bird as critically endangered and a recovery team from all of the other range states and the Commonwealth is trying to map out ways to save the bird. The Tasmanian government has refused to participate.
Wilderness Society National Forest Campaign Manager Warrick Jordan said: 鈥淭he actions and failures of the Tasmanian and Australian governments are driving the Swift Parrot to extinction. It鈥檚 that simple.
鈥淭his is clear evidence that the whole system for protecting nature is fundamentally broken. The legal framework for logging in this country is a total farce that favours destroying nature.
鈥淭he Tasmanian government has rewritten its own logging rules so it can ignore scientific advice not to log critical habitat and has withdrawn from the expert recovery team to avoid scrutiny. Under a Regional Forest Agreement (RFA), the federal government can stick its head in the sand and avoid responsibility for enforcing national nature protection laws.
鈥淭he Swift Parrot is a national responsibility but environment minister Greg Hunt refuses to act, saying it is Tasmania鈥檚 responsibility.
鈥淭he Tasmanian RFA, which exempts logging operations from national environment laws, is currently being reviewed. If Mr Hunt genuinely feels his hands are tied, the RFA and nature protection laws should be reformed now before the RFA is extended for another 20 years and the Swift Parrot is lost forever.鈥
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