Laura Smyth (La Trobe, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to be able to update members today about matters of local and national significance in my electorate of La Trobe. Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve is home to the flora and fauna that make up three of the state of Victoria’s four state emblems: the critically endangered bird known as the Helmeted Honeyeater, the endangered Leadbeater’s possum and pink heath.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting with the President of the Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater group, Arthur Carew, at Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve in my electorate of La Trobe. The friends group formed in May 1989 when the population of the Helmeted Honeyeater bird species reached a critically low level of 50 birds. The friends group is just one part of a team consisting of Parks Victoria rangers, a DSE field ornithologist and Healesville Sanctuary keepers, who work very closely together to improve the severely endangered status of the bird. It really is an excellent example of the best of volunteerism in my local community.

On my recent visit, I was struck by the beauty and diversity of the birds and plants that exist within the Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve and was particularly impressed by the dedication and the detailed, painstaking work of all involved, from monitoring birds, maintaining their habitat, to educating school groups and other local and interstate visitors to the reserve about native species and, importantly, the fragile environment in which they live. This is especially the case for the unpaid volunteers, who have collectively contributed thousands of hours of their personal time to ensure the future of Victoria’s endangered species, our state emblems.

Those at Yellingbo are hoping for the creation of a state emblems park in the area to better protect the local environment and the critical habitat for at-risk species. I know this was something that the Victorian Labor government was hoping to achieve. I hope that I can also lend my voice in support of that aim and I certainly hope that the incoming government pays as much regard to these issues as its predecessor did.

From local to national issues of environmental significance, I was very pleased to attend and speak at a forum in my electorate last week hosted by St Mark’s Anglican Church, together with the Emerald For Sustainability group. The forum was titled ‘Solving the Climate Crisis’ and was focused on climate change—a significant issue in my electorate. The forum was an opportunity to discuss the science of climate change and the significant steps that need to be taken now in order to respond to the challenge of climate change. Residents of Emerald are very familiar with the effects of extreme weather events. It is an area of significant bushfire risk, and of course climate change increases the incidence of that risk. So I am very grateful to St Mark’s and the Emerald For Sustainability group for the opportunity to attend and speak at that forum. I certainly expect that this will be the first of several such forums to be held on this very topical issue in La Trobe.