Drouin Bird Surveys

The bird survey team has nearly finished the autumn surveys of the control sites.

The remaining dates for the control sites are: Golden Whistler Reserve, 20/04/22; Bellbird Park wetland, 26/04/22; Thornell’s Reserve, 28/04/22. If you would like to join in – Drouin Bowls Club car park 830am.

A few non-control sites will be surveyed in early May; dates and sites to be circulated later.

The results of each survey are being uploaded to the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas. As soon as the results have been curated by the Atlas staff, a link will be provided for viewing.

A few highlights to date have included a Spotless Crake at Gum Scrub Creek wetland. The site where the crake was spotted (J) was a hundred metres from Hopetoun Rd, beside the Two Towns Trail and barely 5m from the bulldozers and other machinery working on the development behind the fence!

Spotless Crake (amid the pollution)

Spotless Crakes are not uncommon but are rarely seen because of their furtive nature. Their movements are poorly known and they are thought be sedentary and dispersive.

At the same location, we twice ticked an Australian Hobby. The Hobby is a small, dark falcon with diagnostic narrow wings and rapid, agile flight. It catches most of its small bird and insect prey on the wing.

Australian Hobby c2013

Our most recent survey at McNeilly Park yielded 34 species, including these three usual suspects…

Little Pied Cormorant

White-faced Heron

Narcissistic Pelican (plus pollution, again!)

The ubiquitous Wood Duck was present in good numbers. Here they are lined up for some fun with depth of field camera settings.

In the middle of the line up was a male whose ‘mane’ is clearly visible – two other common names are Maned Duck and Maned Goose.

Maned Goose aka Australian Wood Duck

 

 

Federal Election 2022 Environment policies – 2

 

The following are direct quotes from the respective political party websites. (Spin statements have been avoided where possible)

 

Australian Greens (LINK)

            (Monash candidate – Mat Morgan)

           

            Replacing Coal and Gas

·        “Immediately ban the construction of new coal, oil and gas infrastructure.”

·        “Stop the massive subsidies to big coal, oil and gas corporations.”

·        “Ban all political donations from the mining and resources sector.”

·        “Large-scale public investment in renewable energy and storage, to replace every coal-fired power plant in the country by 2030.”

            Protecting the Environment

·        “Ending land clearing and native forest logging.”

·        “Creating local forestry jobs through planting trees and restoring damaged forests and habitats.”

·        “Stop the extinction crisis through setting a goal of Zero extinction by 2030 and investing in a mass greening and restoration program.”

·        “Green Australia and restore wildlife habitat by investing $2b each year to plant 2 billion trees by 2030.”

·        “Restore the Carbon Farming Futures grants.”

·        “Provide $1bn for a nationwide compostable processing scheme.”

·        “Invest $500 million over five years into infrastructure and programs to reboot recycling and invest $50 million in waste avoidance and reduction research.”

·        “Commit $50 million to wetlands and coastal restoration.”

 

 

Independent  (LINK)

            (Monash candidate – Deb Leonard)

 

          Climate Change and Renewable Energy

·        “I support a goal to reduce our carbon emissions by 74% (on 2005 levels) by 2030, and achieve net zero by 2035.”

·        “I will not support construction any new coal, oil or gas new coal, oil and gas (sic) infrastructure.”

·        “I support increased subsidies and interest free loans to enable every household, business, farm and community organisation access to solar panels and batteries.”

·        “I will fight for tax incentives or subsidies to bring the cost of electric vehicles down to be comparable with the price of petrol or diesel vehicles.”

            Biodiversity

·        “I will make sure Australia has strong environmental laws to protect our fragile environment and safeguard threatened species from extinction.”

The other candidates

            Christine McShane, United Australia Party, LINK.

            Allan Hicken, One Nation Party, LINK.

            Meg Edwards, Liberal Democrats, LINK.

                       

Federal Election 2022 Environment policies – 1

The following are direct quotes from the respective political party websites. More to come. (Editor has tried to avoid spin statements as much as possible.)

Liberal Party (LINK - https://www.liberal.org.au/our-plan/environment)

            (Monash candidate – Russel Broadbent)

           

            Emissions

·        “This decade, the Government will invest more than $22 billion in low emissions technologies…”

            Renewable Energy

·        “The Morrison Government is investing in big projects including Snowy 2.0 (one of the largest pumped hydro projects in the southern hemisphere) and Tasmania’s Battery of the Nation pumped-hydro.”

·        “We are also making carefully considered and targeted investments in transmission projects to support new renewables coming online - including investing a further $84 million in microgrids for remote communities.”

            Recycling

·        “Our $250 million Recycling Modernisation Fund is driving a $1 billion transformation of the waste and recycling sector.”

·        “… launched the ReMade in Australia trademark to give Australians confidence that products have been remade here.”

            Great Barrier Reef

·        “In this year’s Budget, we further strengthened our Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan with an additional $1 billion, with our total investment now more than $3 billion.”

            Protecting the Environment

·        “We are safeguarding our wildlife for future generations by investing $6 billion for threatened species, habitat restoration, marine conservation and environmental projects - including funding $74 million dedicated to koala recovery and conservation.”

            Other statements refer to Landcare, flood response, bushfire recovery, cleaner greener          communities, protecting National Parks, rivers and oceans and Antarctica.

 

Labor Party (LINK – https://www.alp.org.au/policies/protecting-our-environment)

            (Monash candidate – Jessica O’Donnel)

 

          Urban Rivers and Catchments Program

·        “The Urban Rivers and Catchments Program will provide grants for community groups, local and state government to fund projects which deliver improvements to water quality and the local environment, create improved open spaces for kids and families to enjoy and create local jobs.”

·        “There are hundreds of community groups across the country taking action to clean up their local waterways for everyone to enjoy. Labor’s $200 million program will help fund that work to make an even bigger impact, including by: Creating wetlands to slow water flow and filter stormwater before it reaches our rivers, Citizen science and education projects for pre-schoolers and school age children, removing cement walls and returning them to natural riverbanks, revegetation and tree planting.”

            Doubling Indigenous Rangers

·        “An Albanese Labor Government will significantly boost funding for the management of Indigenous Protected Areas, providing an additional $10 million each year.”

·        “An Albanese Labor Government will deliver the $40 million of cultural water promised in 2018 but not yet delivered by the Morrison Government.”

            The Great Barrier Reef

·        “Labor’s commitment includes $85 million to scale up ‘shovel-ready’ work for coral to coast reef resilience and land restoration projects.”

·        “Labor will also commit $15 million for the Coastal Marine Ecosystems Research Centre …”

            Cheaper Energy and a Safer Climate

·        “Our plan will create 604,000 jobs, with 5 out of 6 new jobs to be created in the regions. It will spur $76 billion of investment. It will cut power bills for families and businesses by $275 a year for homes by 2025, compared to today.” 

·        “A Labor Government will introduce an Electric Car Discount – to make electric cars cheaper …”

·        “Power to the People is going to …install 400 community batteries across the country. It’s a $200 million investment to cut power bills, cut emissions and reduce pressure on the electricity grid.”

            New Energy Apprenticeships

·        “To encourage apprentices to train in the new energy jobs of the future, and to provide the additional support they need to complete their training, an Albanese Labor Government will invest $100 million to support 10,000 New Energy Apprenticeships.”