24th Mar 2011, 3:44 PM – Senate Motions - Bilbies - Monitor & research

The same number of senators voted for and against the motion, which means it failed. It had been introduced by Greens Senator Scott Ludlam.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) Main Roads Western Australia have submitted a proposal to build a road to James Price Point through pristine Kimberley bushland which is prime habitat for the bilby, acknowledged as a vulnerable species by both the Western Australian Government and the Federal Government,

(ii) that building a road through this area would directly destroy the habitat as well as threatening the species by opening up its habitat to predators such as dogs and feral cats,

(iii) the construction of a major road through this area may contravene the Australian Government’s own National Recovery Plan for the greater bilby,

(iv) the status of the greater bilby in large parts of Western Australia is unclear, as identified in the National Recovery Plan, and

(v) that the decision to locate a gas hub or other heavy industry at James Price Point is still being considered under the Federal Government’s environmental assessment process and this proposal presupposes the outcome of that process; and

(b) calls for:

(i) the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (Mr Burke) to take careful note of the information provided through the environment protection and biodiversity conservation process and examine the proposal in light of its impact on the endangered bilby, and

(ii) investment in more scientific research into the status and habitat of the bilby.