There are a couple of reports out today in online newspapers about Australia taking six years to list threatened habitats under their environment laws. The reports point to the fact that the Australian authorities, specifically those people charged with protecting Australia’s native species and their habitat, are behaving in a cheapskate and sloppy manner when it comes to listing threatened habitats which in turn would protect the animals living in those habitats.
Also, I suspect that there is intense lobbying by businesses of Australia’s officials including members of Parliament to deregulate areas so that they can be exploited commercially or to put a stop to the protection of certain areas where endangered wildlife lives in order once again to exploit those areas for commercial gain.
Humane Society International (HSI) has been behind the nomination of 33 ecological communities1 deemed threatened under Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act as well as 73 individual threatened species.
However, there’s been a lack of motivation and finance in order to get them listed. In fact it takes six years to list threatened habitats in Australia where they are meant to be passionate about their native species. Are they? Or is it just a lousy PR exercise?
“From the point where we nominate an ecological community, for example, we’re expecting best case scenario that it’s going to take six or seven years before that’s actually on the list and receiving any protection.” – HSI
The distinct impression is that the senior civil servants and politicians who are meant to be protecting the Australian habitat and species who live within it are dragging their heels and being effectively lobbied by businesses. They plead lack of funds but the funds should be forthcoming.
From the point of view of this website, it shows a distinct bias against feral cats because there have been countless stories of how Australian’s slaughter feral cats on the continent, en masse and in the millions, because they are seen as the villain in respect of damage to native species. Perhaps these high profile attempts to eradicate an unwanted predator introduced to Australia by people, are simply a PR exercise to hide the sloppy, slow and cheapskate attitude towards protecting endangered species within their habitats.
It also points to the fact that people are the greatest danger to Australia’s native species. Attacking the feral cat is simply passing the buck. Australia should get real and start dealing with people problems, particularly business, if they genuinely want to protect their beautiful landscape and the flora and fauna that lives within it.
1. “Ecological communities are groups of plants, animals, and other organisms that are protected as a single habitat.” – Guardian Newspaper. Thanks.
