Ms BADGER (Lyons) – Honourable Speaker, first of all, happy birthday. I am sorry it has taken me all day to get to that.
The SPEAKER – Thank you.
Ms BADGER – Over summer, I am sure that all members saw the worrying news that the penguins that are synonymous with our east coast community at Bicheno had disappeared. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) said that this event was not necessarily abnormal, and cited statistics of reported deaths to penguins, which showed no dramatic increases.
However, this certainly was not a normal event when we have Bicheno penguin tours closed for three weeks during peak season. They have spent 33 years observing the penguins locally. Over this period of the year, they would normally be seeing 500 to 600 penguins. At present, there are around 40. That is an exceptionally low number, but it is better than the none they had previously. I am also pleased to hear that the penguin tours in Bicheno are reopened, albeit for slightly smaller tours to reduce the impacts on the few penguins that have returned.
The reported death statistics should not exclusively be relied upon for decision-making and investigating the serious scenario that has occurred. Locals do not necessarily know to report dead or dying penguins to NRE Tas. Yes, there is a page on the NRE Tas website which informs the best course of action if you see wildlife in need of assistance, but that is not sufficient. We have tourists who travel from around the world to come to Tasmania to experience our natural wonders, including the amazing little penguins. If they see one that is suffering, they would not think to call NRE Tas. In fact, they probably would not even know what NRE Tas is.
To be absolutely clear, what happened over summer was not a mass death situation. It was a mass evacuation. That coincided with a 4°Celcius overnight increase in local ocean temperature. Our oceans are warming, our wildlife is suffering, and what are we doing?
Greens senator, Peter Whish-Wilson, and I have both separately called on the Tasmanian government to reconvene the Penguin Advisory Board, which comprised bird experts who can investigate and provide the science on the events that we have seen unfold. We both also asked for some signage to be put up around the local beaches so that people would know the right course of action if they saw birds suffering. This is particularly important when an outbreak of avian flu is nearly inevitable here. I cannot speak for Senator Whish-Wilson at the present, but I am certainly yet to receive a response. As is way too often the case, luckily the local communities have stepped up in lieu of government support. The Bicheno community information board is currently undergoing transformation to be dedicated to penguin interpretation and education for locals and tourists, so people know what is currently going on.
After the seriousness of this summer, it is very concerning to hear that feral cats have now taken up in the rookery at Bicheno. Also at Low Head there is an increasing problem with cats. This is our daily update on the Tasmanian Cat Management Plan 2024-2029, as cited in the Liberals’ response to the 2024 State of the Environment Report, recommendation 13, as ‘taking action on invasives’. I just checked the website before coming in here, and yet again, it is still not publicly available. Here is to hoping that 2024-2029 report is completed before 2029.
Again, I back the calls from the UTAS academics who, in January, urgently called on the government to establish a climate adaption fund for tourism in Tasmania. For those in Bicheno, that fund would mean increased research employment into monitoring of the penguins and seeing how they returned, which could help advise education for visitors and help us with our long-term understanding of what has happened. Certainly, empowering climate adaption is a very important step for our tourism businesses.
Finally, we cannot let this first week of parliament pass without acknowledging the tremendous efforts of those who have worked and are continuing to work on the bushfires across our West Coast, Takayna and the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA). We are all very grateful for the huge efforts made to ensure that our ancient Huon pine stands in Takayna and the Harman and Wilson rivers are still standing, and similarly with pencil pines in the Windermere area.
I note that this evening, Andrew Darby, is launching a book at Fullers called The Ancients, which is a journey to find the world’s oldest surviving trees in wild Tasmania. That work is incredibly prudent at the moment. If anyone can afterwards, feel free to pop down there. His book will increase in value as it documents this extraordinary world that we stand to lose if we do not take climate action now.
