Sam Lim (Tangney, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Tangney is beautiful, diverse and rich with unique ecosystems. Today I wish to shed light on a section of the Swan River foreshore in the suburb of Alfred Cove, in my electorate, where some passionate members of the community have been able to restore and rehabilitate what was once used as a rubbish tip. It is through these local community groups, who recognised the area's extraordinary natural values all those years ago, that we as a community can benefit and learn about the wildlife that thrive in this place.

Alfred Cove has the largest remaining stretches of samphire, saltmarsh and seagrass in the Swan River estuary. They form a federally protected threatened ecological community. Samphire plants were a bush food used by the Noongar Aboriginals and are, with the exception of one species, endemic to Australia. Importantly, samphire is 40 times more effective than virgin rainforests in capturing and storing carbon and pumping oxygen into the air, water and mudflats. This ecosystem supports 149 species of birds and provides a nursery for crustaceans and fish. This also includes some species of bird that fly all the way from Siberia to Alfred Cove just to feed. It's also visited by the river dolphins, which, you will not be surprised to hear, are close to my heart.

I applaud the City of Melville, which has been active over the last two years in developing, in collaboration with the community, a master plan for the area, but many of the important environmental aspects of the master plan are not expected to be achieved for 10 to 20 years, due to funding requirements. I'm hoping that funding will be made available well before then. When government and active community groups, like SERAG and the Melville bird sanctuary, work together I know that great things can be achieved, and we must make use of such opportunities. I'm looking forward to seeing this beautiful space thrive, and I encourage my fellow parliamentarian friends to visit it with me whenever you come to Tangney.

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