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  4. 26 September 2007

Hanging Rock Swamp Oak Forest

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SpeakersRhiannon Ms Lee
BusinessAdjournment

      HANGING ROCK SWAMP OAK FOREST
Page: 2333
      Ms LEE RHIANNON [6.11 p.m.]: The hardworking members of Hanging Rock Landcare, together with many other volunteers, have been working on a green corridor extending from one end of Batemans Bay to the other. They have received Commonwealth environment funding for this project. This should be a good news story about the spectacular regeneration of coastal dunes. But Eurobodalla Shire Council has claimed a large portion of the regenerated land for a model car track the size of six netball courts. In 2004 this Landcare group started to care officially for the Hanging Rock Swamp oak forest. It is only a small remnant but is listed by the New South Wales Scientific Committee as an endangered ecological community in part 3 of schedule 1 of the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. Hanging Rock Landcare was granted care of the area in question and received finance and backing from the Federal Government's Envirofund.

      The project involved extending the swamp oak forest along the length of Corrigans Beach, creating a green corridor for birds, small mammals and insects. The threatened glossy black cockatoos now had a home since most of their original habitat in Batemans Bay had been destroyed by housing development. Since the first Federal grant in 2004 members of this group have worked hard undertaking eradication of blackberry, bitu bush and a host of other weeds. They followed that up with mulching, fencing and walkway construction. All up, 15 large truckloads of rubbish were removed from the site. Most of the dune area was replanted with swamp oaks and some coastal banksias, lamandras and saltbush. Approximately 800 trees were planted in the first run and later 100 trees were planted with the help of scouts, schoolchildren and many other volunteers. There have been setbacks. For example, many trees were lost in the drought but these were replaced. All this hard work has been recognised, with the project receiving four awards and more Envirofund money in December 2006.
      But in April this year survey pegs were found in the middle of the dunes restored with native vegetation. This is how the members of Hanging Rock Landcare and the other hardworking volunteers found out that a remote control car track the size of six netball courts was planned for the Landcare area that they had worked so hard to restore. Eurobodalla council has now approved this project. Greens Councillor Chris Kowal and Councillor Michael Corbin were the only councillors to vote against the project. Mr Kowal attempted to persuade the council to look at alternative sites and detailed the importance of this dune project in providing protection against climate change related coastal storm surges. Jane McBride, Co-ordinator of Long Beach Landcare, was given only five minutes to address the council about the project. Jane told me that she and her colleagues felt that the decision about the project had already been made before she spoke and before the final vote was taken.

      The proposed model car track will be a giant slab of concrete. This is vandalism. Restored ecosystems will be smashed. The noise of the model cars will drive away the glossy black cockatoos that at last had a home. Let us be clear: The councillors on Eurobodalla Shire Council except for Chris Kowal and Michael Corbin voted to destroy approved Landcare volunteer work funded by the Commonwealth Envirofund. This has surely set a precedent. The State and Federal governments should stop this council vandalism. Has there not been a breach of contractual arrangements with the Commonwealth Government?

      This is not the first time that Eurobodalla council has voted in favour of a proposal that resulted in the destruction of a Landcare project. Only four months ago, in June this year, at Long Beach near Batemans Bay Eurobodalla council ripped up dune care work that locals had received Federal funding to undertake. As with the Hanging Rock project, the locals were awarded for their hard work. Eurobodalla council granted an achievement award on Australia Day for the very project that it later sent in the bulldozers to destroy. Let us ensure that Long Beach does not set a precedent for more vandalism. The model car racing track project has not yet commenced and Hanging Rock Landcare is still fighting to save the restored swamp oak forest ecosystem. I have written to the Minister for Lands, Mr Tony Kelly about this matter. I urge him to meet with members of Hanging Rock Landcare when he visits the South Coast next week and to work with them to ensure that this proposed council vandalism never happens.

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