In
predictable fashion, following the twin disasters of drought and fire, the
usual vested interests pop up and start agitating to be allowed into our
national parks. Of course, these timber and grazing interest proposals offer to
do us all a favour, claiming logging and grazing will reduce fuel, and thus
make us safe from fires.
Other
business enterprises must be envious. It's like the local hardware store asking
to be allowed to expand into the local town hall during an economic downturn,
or a second hand car dealership taking over a convenient sports field to save
money on rent. After all, these are public facilities, just like national
parks, the only difference being that parks bring billions of tourism and
leisure dollars to the economy each year.
Completely
ignored in this campaign to access national parks, is the fact that they are
set up for conservation purposes, a place where flora and fauna which are
threatened with extinction will have an opportunity to survive. They're not
there to be cut down and smashed by huge industrial machines, or trampled and
browsed by uncontrolled herds of cattle.
Overlooked
is the fact that few national parks are fenced and there would be no way to
control stock once let loose, or are the long-suffering taxpayers expected to
cover that cost as well? Instead stock will be free to destroy threatened
plants, trample up and down creek banks causing massive erosion in the process,
and free do stir up mud and defecate in the pristine creeks and streams, often
the source of urban drinking water.
Both
these industries cause massive environmental damage in the general community.
At this crucial time, when we should be doing all in our power to increase
vegetation to store carbon, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, one is
clear-felling forests, while the other is belching out massive amounts of
methane.
Let's
show common sense, keep these greedy hands off national parks, and start
properly resourcing the parks service so that these priceless assets can be
properly managed for the public interest, and for future generations to enjoy.
- John Edwards
This article was originally published in the VOICES FOR THE EARTH column in The Daily Examiner on February 24, 2020.
This article was originally published in the VOICES FOR THE EARTH column in The Daily Examiner on February 24, 2020.
