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Queensland land clearing: big win in balance - a chance for EVERYONE on

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Subject: Queensland land clearing: big win in balance - a chance for EVERYONE on birding-aus to support
From: "Paul Peake" <>
Date: Sun, 25 May 2003 10:53:08 +1000
Dear everyone at birding-aus,

This is a short email from me with details of what to do if you want to help
achieve what (in my view at least) is the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT VICTORY FOR
NATURE (INCLUDING BIRD) CONSERVATION IN AUSTRALIAN HISTORY - an end to
broadscale land clearing in Queensland.

All the details are in the longer email following below, but if you don't
want to read it, the basic gist is that NOW - RIGHT NOW - is the time to
contact politicians and media (by any means, preferably several, especially
the most prompt: phone, fax and email) to send a strong message of support
for an immediate end to broadscale land clearing in Queensland - currently
the subject of intensive negotiation between the Federal and Queensland
Governments.

If you have opportunity to do a lot of lobbying etc., see the email below.
As a minimum, wouldn't it be great if EVERYONE on birding-aus immediately
contacted the Prime Minister (the highest priority contact at the moment) to
support proposals to end land clearing immediately:

Write to: John Howard, Suite NG8, Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600
Ph (02) 6277 7700;  Fax: 02 6273 4100
www.pm.gov.au/your_feedback/feedback.htm


Here's an example of a brief message I just threw together in a few minutes
(feel free to copy and modify as you see fit):

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
Dear Mr Howard,

Please do all you can to IMMEDIATELY end land clearing in Queensland.  I am
a birdwatcher and am horrified that HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of birds (not to
mention other native wildlife) will be lost forever in the coming years
unless something is done to stop this disaster immediately.  Every month of
delay costs us hundreds of thousands of native birds.

I trust that you will do all you can to IMMEDIATELY solve what I consider to
be by far the biggest environmental problem facing Australia today.

Yours sincerely, ...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--

Being a realist, I see the potential for all sorts of controversial
birding-aus threads emanating from this humble posting (should we be talking
about conservation on the forum?, is it really the single most important
victory?, ....).  That's great (isn't what we love about birding-aus?) but
how about - before we do anything else - we ALL send at least one
fax/email/whatever of support before launching into the side-threads?

Thanks in anticipation,

Paul Peake

89 Leinster Grove
Thornbury, VIC 3071
Phone: 03 9484 1815
Fax: 03 9484 1815


Urgent  Chance for solution to Queensland land clearing!
24th May 2003

Apologies for cross listings- please distribute on to friends, colleagues
and appropriate email lists

Dear friends,

I am writing to ask you to help with what could be the biggest single win in
protecting nature in Australia- ever.

It is extremely important right now to send a strong message to the Prime
Minister, John Howard, to put in place a solution to land clearing in
Queensland.

Yesterday the Prime Minister and Queensland Premier Beattie put forward a
joint proposal for a rapid phase out of clearing of mature bushland in
Queensland- and the immediate protection of threatened bushland in much of
the state.

Currently Queensland is the rogue state for land clearing- it clears around
300,000 hectares (3,000 square km) of mature bush, and 200,000 hectares of
regrowth bushland each year.

If the Howard-Beattie plan is put in place this would protect millions of
hectares of native woodlands and forests  and the habitat of 100s of
millions of native animals.  It would largely deal with the biggest threat
to nature in Australia.

However- there are already strong protests from some farming groups who are
saying that the proposals are not acceptable.

There is a particular risk that the Federal Liberal-National Government may
be swayed by such views.

We are also concerned that the proposal doesn't offer any protection for
significant areas of regrowth bush or offer protection for threatened
bushland in urban areas.

It is extremely important right now to send a strong message to the Prime
Minister, John Howard, that there is strong public support for this proposal
and that it needs to be implemented.

If you can spare just 10 minutes to:
·        write a letter to the Prime Minister
·        a letter to a paper
·        call in to talk back radio

this would help  enormously in finally resolving this huge environmental
problem.

You don't need to write something long- just a short message saying that you
support the Prime Minister's land clearing proposal to protect the rivers,
farmlands and wildlife of Queensland for future generations.  Land clearing
directly destroys wildlife habitat and is the main cause of salinity
affecting rivers and farmland.


Prime Minister John Howard
Suite NG8
Parliament House
Canberra 2600
Ph (02) 62777700
Fax (02) 62715414
Email him from the link at web site www.pm.gov.au

The Australian Newspaper
GPO Box 4254
Sydney NSW 2001
Fax (02) 9288 2250


The Courier Mail
GPO Box 130
Brisbane 4001
Fax (07) 3666 6690


4BC Talking Brisbane - 1116 AM
this station has talk back throughout the day, phone 13 13 32 or 07 3831
1116

612 ABC Local Radio - 612 AM
the best times for talk back are between 9.30 and 11am, or 4-6pm
Phone 1300 360 612

Or other metropolitan papers and radio stations in other states.

If you live in South-east Queensland come along to our public meeting on
land clearing with Prof Tim Flannery on June 4th in Brisbane, and join us at
the land clearing rally on Saturday June 7th.

For more information:
Email: 
Phone 07 3846 1420 or 0428 461 420
Post: PO Box 5427 West End Qld 4101
1st Floor 136 Boundary St West End


The proposal (taken from Federal Government media release and confirmed in
discussions)

The immediate protection of 'of concern' vegetation (in non-urban areas)

The phase down of broadacre clering of remnant vegetation to zero by 2006.

Continuation of regrowth clearing and of the Regional Vegetation Management
Plan process

Continuation of some exemptions (eg for woody weeds, infrastructure
development, legitimate forest practices, appropriate thinning and fodder
harvesting under permit)

A joint Commonwealth and Queensland adjustment assistance package of up to
$150 million with three key elements:
$130 million for financial incentives to assist with the transition (or,
where necessary,
for exit assistance)
$12 million for incentives for incentives to improve management of the more
valuable
remnant vegetation
$8 million for incentives to develop best practice farm management plans


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