2022-02-26
Trying to protect biodiversity, and Carnaby’s Cockatoos in particular, tackling homelessness and engaging with the State Government on climate action
By Hon Brad Pettitt, MLC, Member for South Metropolitan
This month my team and I have continued to get settled in our new electorate office on High Street in Fremantle. We have also just wrapped up our first parliamentary sitting weeks of 2022 and will take a short recess before returning to the Upper House in March. We have lots of issues to advocate for in the WA Parliament and have hit the ground running in 2022. Here's what we've been up to this last month:
Biodiversity and planned burn-offs
With the assistance and knowledge of many community advocates, I moved a motion to try and achieve better protections for our environment during planned burn-offs. This motion sought to disallow a state regulation which removes liability for taking or disturbing threatened species or ecological communities. Bushfire hazard reduction is of course very important and we should ensure we are engaging in it only when guided by the best scientific, ecological and emergency services expertise.
Cockatoos
As many of you may know, WA's iconic Black Carnaby's Cockatoos are sadly on the brink of extinction and the WA State Government is just letting it happen. Urban sprawl, climate change, thinning of native forests and bushland, improper fire management practices, and mining have all contributed to a lack of food sources and habitat for these birds. With the last remaining Gnangarra pines scheduled for timber harvest in the next 2 years and no food replacement plan, the situation facing the Carnaby's right now is truly dire.
A new group of environmental groups, Save the Black Cockatoos, recently formed in WA to help save these incredible birds. I made a member statement in Parliament in the first sitting week of the year calling on the State Government to take action and inviting my Upper House colleagues to join me at the Save the Black Cockatoos Rally at Parliament House. The rally sadly had to be cancelled due to rising COVID case numbers, however be sure to follow Save the Black Cockatoos on Facebook and Instagram to stay updated on future actions.
Housing and homelessness
The Estimates Committee that I am a member of kicked off our inquiry into homelessness services in WA. First up were representatives from the Department of Communities, who I questioned on matters such as access to case workers and continuous funding for successful programs like 20 Homes 20 Lives and 50 Homes 50 Lives. It was a useful first session as the committee starts to understand where the gaps are in WA's housing services and how we can best end homelessness in WA. We all agree that a Housing First approach with wrap-around services is the way to go but at the moment there are neither enough houses for people to go into nor enough case workers and services for people experiencing homelessness.
In addition to the homelessness inquiry, I have also been asking questions about the rental crisis and overall housing shortages we are seeing in WA. This includes questioning on the impact that the opening of WA's borders will have on the affordability of housing, as well as questions about funding (or lack thereof) for programs providing vaccines to Western Australians experiencing homelessness as the COVID-19 outbreak grows.
Climate change
I had my first meeting with the new Minister for Environment and Climate Action, Hon Reece Whitby, to keep the pressure on the McGowan Government to take science-based climate action this decade. It was a good first discussion where we discussed many of the low-hanging fruit actions that WA could take right now to reduce emissions such as EV incentives, community batteries and large-scale renewable energy storage, installing solar panels and energy efficiency measures in social housing, and more.
I have also partnered with MPs from other political parties to form the Parliamentary Friends of Clean Energy group. We recently met with the Minister for Energy, Hon Bill Johnston, where I asked about whether the State Government is planning for a 100% renewable future for WA's electricity grid (the SWIS).
Additionally, I questioned the State Government about the proposed Perdaman urea plant in the Pilbara that will help Woodside make Scarborough gas a reality. This plant could damage the largest collection of First Nations rock art in the world, see sacred sites destroyed, and will be 100% powered by fossil fuels. Instead of taking climate action and listening to Traditional Owners, the McGowan and Morrison governments have gotten together to invest more than a quarter billion in taxpayer money in a project that will destroy both our climate and First Nations cultural heritage. Many other environmental groups in WA as well as my federal colleague, Senator Dorinda Cox, have been speaking out against the proposed Perdaman urea plant, I will continue to keep the pressure on the State Government about Scarborough, Perdaman, and other climate damaging projects in State Parliament.
In addition to all the things our team has been working on in WA Parliament, I recently hosted my first Politics in the Park and was joined by our lovely candidate for Fremantle, Felicity Townsend. There are only a few more months to go before the Federal Election and I look forward to working alongside our incredible candidates and tireless volunteers to re-elect Dorinda Cox to the Senate.
Header photo: Supporting Felicity Townsend, Greens candidate for Fremantle, at a Politics at the Park event at Valley Park in February