23 July 2010

Isn’t it shameful that an icon of our natural heritage, that has existed for thousands of years, can have been left to gradually fade from existence while we sit around and do virtually nothing?

Imagine if the Sydney Harbour bridge or Opera House was suddenly threatened by coastal erosion. How long would it take for us to act? In 2006, Tony Abbott lobbied hard for the protection and heritage-listing of Sydney’s North Heads. $20 million dollars was pledged for restoration.

Orange-bellied Parrots are more than just any old bird. They are a very special part of our country's history. Photo by Geoff Jones, Barra Imaging.

Orange-bellied Parrots are going extinct because our coastal ecosystem has fallen into disrepair. The ‘powers that be’ have implied that extinction is inevitable and that financing recovery is a waste of public money.

In a paper “How many bird extinctions have we prevented“, Stuart Butchart, Alison Stattersfield and Nigel Collar identified 16 success stories between 1994 and 2004 but these all depended on the level of political will and financial support. Ironically, they identified Northern Bristlebird as a success story but last year, Australian state authorities pulled funding for that as well – despite finding millions of dollars to prop up the economy in asphalt and steel since the global economic downturn.

It is shameful that, Australia, one of the most economically powerful countries cannot afford to develop the “collaboration and partnerships between governments, non-governmental organisations, business and private individuals” that Butchart et al say is the key to conservation of rare species.

We are responsible for the loss of Orange-bellied Parrot. It is going extinct because we have catastrophically failed to manage our coasts. We should be worried that this is a sign of things to come. In Victoria, our coastal services contribute $9 billion to Victoria in Gross Regional Product. We are spending millions on coastal flood defence, housing is threatened by the sea and all because our saltmarshes have been destroyed.

Can we not see, that our plight and that of the Orange-bellied Parrot is the same? Do we not think we have a responsibility to ourselves as much as we do to this bird?

I was sitting in front of the television last week watching Stateline and wondering why the Recovery Team was only now thinking of supplementary feeding birds that for years, have been at the brink of extinction – this year of all years, the year that Stateline reports they are considering taking a third of the remaining birds from the wild.

My son Charlie who is 5-years old, blubbed and said “but I want to see one”. By the time he has finished school, and unless something drastic changes in the hearts of Australians, Orange-bellied Parrot sightings will be no more than a myth.

How is it that a 5-year old boy can have more sympathy for our natural heritage than those who hold positions of power? These people could, if they had the will and strength of character, preserve this beautiful, priceless and irreplaceable living being, for our future generations. Maybe, just maybe, Orange-bellied Parrots could one day forage amongst reclaimed coastal saltmarsh again.

The question is, do we have the strength of character needed to make sure this extinction doesn’t happen, or are we kidding ourselves that our nation gives a damn.