Threat to Swift Parrot habitat Tasmania

Hi everyone,
Thanks to Penny for bringing this issue to birding aus - it is a very important one and definitely worth following up.  In order to ensure the long term survival of the Swift Parrot, we need to protect and conserve its habitat both in Tasmania and on the mainland.  However, I would like to point out that the current national recovery plan for the Swift Parrot does not include a captive breeding program.  The main emphasis of the recovery plan is on the conservation of habitat throughout the swift parrot range.  For those of you who would like to contact Senator Hill about protecting Swift Parrot habitat on Mount Nelson please contact him by phone or post as follows:

Office phone: 02 6277 7640
Postal Address: MG68 Parliament House, Canberra 2600

The latest information is that the minister has contacted the developer and is waiting for a reply within the required time frame.  Any further action on this issue will occur after this reply period is finished or the proponent replies.  I have been in contact with Joe Johnson, Environment Australia Compliance, who is dealing with this issue.  He suggested that direct contact with Senator Hill was the most effective way to submit any correspondance about this issue.  However, if you would like to contact Joe Johnson his contact details are  02 6274 1644. 

Thank you to everyone who is showing interest in the conservation of the Swift Parrot and its habitats, and good luck to all of you who are doing their bit for the Swift Parrot this national survey weekend!  If you are interested in becoming involved in future surveys for Swift Parrots, please contact me and provide your contact details including name, phone, email & address.  

Thank you,

Debbie Saunders
Swift Parrot Project Officer
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service
Threatened Species Unit, Southern Directorate
Ph: (02) 6298 9733  Freecall: 1800 66 57 66 Fax: (02) 6299 4281
email:

02/08/01 09:59

To:         @ INTERNET         cc:                 Subject:        [BIRDING-AUS] Threat to Swift Parrot habitat Tasmania

Dear all

Does anyone know about this threat  to an area of native bushland at Olinda Grove on  Mount Nelson, Tasmania?

Hobart City Council is planning to sell an area of public remnant bushland so that it can be cleared and  an aged care facility built on it. It is a Swift Parrot feeding/breeding ground and has stands of an endangered Eucalypt - E. ovata.  I am told that not only will the aged care facility be built on a site that is up a steep hill and out of town, but the fire brigade is insisting on additional clearing around the new facility as an insurance against bush fires. The permissions for this were rushed through Council over Christmas and have caught the locals by surprise.

Many people are spending a mass of time and money trying to bring Swift Parrots back from the brink of extinction a with captive breeding and surveys in Tassie, Victoria and New South Wales. How ironic that the local council should negate these community efforts by such a short-sighted decision which, from what I hear, is also not the best site for the old people who will be stuck out in the bush far from their relies.

Please could as many people as possible write to Senator Hill as apparently the Tassie State Government has tossed the issue over to the Federals.   Also send a copy of letters to the Friends of Mount Nelson, P.O. Box 1204, Sandy Bay, Tasmania 7005.

  I'm sorry I don't have Senator Hill's email address but maybe someone out there on Birding-aus can put it up on the network.

Thanks

-- Penny Drake-Brockman, Examination Recitals Co-ordinator, Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Tel: 02 9351 1254.
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