John Cobb (Calare, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Food Security) Share this | Hansard source

the people power, to bring this back and put the heat on the Prime Minister once again, now that she is the Prime Minister and not just the so-called Minister for Education, who is meant to be passionate about education. She is not passionate about it in country areas.

The other subject I rise to speak on today that I was not able to speak on when the member for Cowper moved his legislation on flying foxes is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Public Health and Safety) Bill 2010. I totally support it. This year, for the first time in living memory, flying foxes invaded Orange. This is an area with very serious apple orchards and fruit orchards to a large extent. The flying foxes inundated it, and all the state government did was allow some people to destroy up to 25. There were 25 million of the damn things around. I have nothing against flying foxes personally, but I do have something against allowing an animal to threaten livelihoods and schools. Flying foxes are actually responsible for spreading the hendra virus, which is a deadly disease for humans. We have already had four deaths in Australia and two or three other people who very nearly died. It is total destruction for horses which get it or carry it. I totally support the member for Cowper’s legislation, and I call on the state government and the federal government to get off their high horse and actually allow communities to deal with this pest in the way it needs to be dealt with.

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