What the NSW government is doing to our national parks
through repeated restructuring and staff cuts is an absolute tragedy. Remaining
staff are demoralised and frustrated, seeing their wonderful conservation
reserves deteriorating, species declining, with invasive weeds smothering
native vegetation, and feral predators sending threatened species to
extinction.
According to a report in the Land newspaper: “In
the past six years, Parks have shed about100 rangers and about 300 field
officers. A number of regional managers have also been axed taking with them
decades of bushfire management and pest control management knowledge”.
At the same time Parks regions in NSW have been cut
from 66 to 35.
The official stance of the Office of Environment and
Heritage that: “Our key focus on fire, pests, weeds, asset maintenance and
visitor facilities remains unchanged” is, to put it mildly, fanciful
nonsense.
The following is an example of reality.
Fifteen months ago, during an extended dry period, two
bushfires lit and left unattended by graziers, burned out the whole of the
Chambigne Nature Reserve south west of Grafton, across some 1,500 hectares of
conservation land under Clarence Valley Council's management, and all or part
of at least five private properties.
Property damage was extensive and environmental damage
massive, and the three days of fire-fighting and follow-up removal of trees
that were threatening to fall on roads and transmission lines would have cost
tax-payers millions, yet not one person was held accountable.
Fifteen months on, and because the parks service does
not have the available monetary or human resources, none of the kilometres of
park fencing that were damaged by the fire have been repaired. As a result the
nature reserve, and the shores of the regional water supply dam at Shannon
Creek have been overrun by cattle, trampling the unique threatened flora, and
defecating in the region's drinking water.
The “Land's” observation: “For the few staff which
are left it must be very demoralising to know that they can't do their job with
the resources they have been provided”, would be a massive understatement.
Is this really the best we can do?
- John
Edwards
This article was originally published in the VOICES FOR THE EARTH column in The Daily Examiner on September 11, 2017.
