Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to talk about my efforts to engage the community and its stakeholders on the importance of our local environment. Earlier this month I launched Hasluck's 'green map', which outlines the ecological corridors, regional parks, Bush Forever sites and wetlands that exist within Hasluck. The A3 poster was mailed out to every home in the electorate, which means over 53,000 homes received the map, and it lists the various friends of the environment groups that are already in existence.

If people wish to become active in their local area to protect the environment, they can use the details provided to contact their council and become more involved. Hasluck's green map is also linked to a Facebook page, which gives residents an opportunity to learn more about the local environment and find more ways to get involved in their local area. It is also a resource for local environmental groups to advertise their upcoming environmental initiatives and events.

I was fortunate enough to welcome the shadow minister for the environment, the Hon. Greg Hunt MP, to Hasluck to assist with the launch, which took place at Men of the Trees in Hazelmere. Men of the Trees is a unique Western Australian organisation that was founded in 1979 and has since planted over 11 million seedlings to prevent the spread of deserts, erosion and salinity. The shadow minister used the launch to commit half a million seedlings to the Men of the Trees should the coalition win the next election.

I was motivated to create a green map of my electorate for several reasons. Principally, every person I met expressed some concern for their local environment and how it is treated: the trees that are cut down or the pollution that finds its way into our rivers. I invited some of these people who are actively involved in their local ecosystems to travel with me and Greg Hunt on a bus tour of the green map. We attended several key locations in my electorate that are each examples of how direct action benefits the environment.

The first stop was Lesmurdie Senior High School to meet the principal, Keith Svendsen, and tour the school's environmental initiatives such as freshwater collection tanks and the bushland it wishes to protect at the school. The bus then stopped at All Earth Group in Maddington, a company that recycles building waste, takes out the metal, rubble and tyres, sells this material on and creates soils and road base for commercial and private use. So impressive was the set-up at All Earth Group that the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Tony Abbott MP, came out to visit himself when he was in Perth for CHOGM.

After that stop we met with the Friends of Brixton Street Wetlands and SERCUL. The Brixton Street Wetlands are one of Western Australia's most important ecological sites. The final stop for the bus was the Lower Helena Association. This group has been working with the local developers to ensure that the natural environment is not only protected during development but has thrived under the care of this group.

Since Hasluck's green map found its way into people's letterboxes on the weekend, I have received numerous phone calls from people asking how they can get involved in their local environment or how to go about setting up their own friends of the environment group. I welcome these efforts and the wider attempts to improve the environment in Hasluck by actually getting out there and making a difference instead of just talking about it. 'Facta, non verba' is the Latin phrase for 'Deeds, not words', and it is one that guides me in my role as a parliamentarian.

The coalition and I will always support people in their efforts to get involved and physically make a difference to their environment. This sort of direct action must be supported. Organisations involved in the creation of Hasluck's green map include Perth Region NRM, the Perth Biodiversity Project, Friends of the Environment, the South East Regional Centre for Urban Landcare, the Nature Reserves Preservation Group, the Shire of Kalamunda, the City of Gosnells and the City of Swan. For more information on all of these great organisations I encourage people to visit http://www.facebook.com/hasluck.greenmap.

I would like to thank all of those organisations for contributing to the production of Hasluck's green map. This initiative will produce real and lasting results for the environment in my electorate. I salute all of those who have been involved in this initiative for their constant efforts to protect what is ours for the future. I encourage people to think and act locally for tomorrow so that they leave their children and future generations of those who live within Hasluck an environment that can be enjoyed and wetlands. Mr Speaker, I know we do not use props, but I just want to show the chamber that the green map of Hasluck does in fact show those very key areas that are important within the environment.

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