David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the following matter be referred to the Environment and Communications References Committee for inquiry and report by 9 June 2023:

The impacts and management of feral horses in the Australian Alps, with particular reference to:

(a) identifying best practice approaches to reduce the populations of feral horses in the Australian Alps and their impact on:

(i) biodiversity, including threatened and endangered species and ecological communities listed under Commonwealth, state or territory law,

(ii) the ecological health of the Australian Alps national parks and reserves,

(iii) Indigenous cultural heritage, and

(iv) the headwaters of the Murray, Murrumbidgee, Snowy and Cotter Rivers, including their hydrology, water holding capacity, water quality, habitat integrity and species diversity;

(b) Commonwealth powers and responsibilities, including:

(i) the protection of matters of national environmental significance under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, including listed threatened species and communities and the National Heritage listed Australian Alps national parks and reserves,

(ii) obligations under international treaties, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, and

(iii) the commitment to prevent new extinctions under the threatened species action plan;

(c) the adequacy of state and territory laws, policies, programs and funding for control of feral horses and other hard-hoofed invasive species in the Australian Alps, and their interaction with Commonwealth laws and responsibilities;

(d) measures required to repair and restore native habitats for species impacted by feral horses and other hard-hoofed invasive species in the Australian Alps, including for iconic species like the corroboree frog and the platypus; and

(e) any other related matters.

Question agreed to.