Playing Politics With Parrots

The Australian, Page: 15
Monday, 31 July 2006

IT appears Environment Minister Ian Campbell's posture as protector of endangered wildlife is species-specific. And parrots, as well as politicians he approves of, are at the top of the tree. In April, the minister knocked back a $220 million wind power proposal for Bald Hills, in Victoria's Gippsland region, because it was a threat to the orange-bellied parrot. That all sorts of aggrieved locals did not want wind turbines blighting their landscape had nothing to do with it.

Nor was the fact that Senator Campbell's ministerial mate, Gippsland boss cockey Peter McGauran, reckons wind farms are a waste of space. Or that Bald Hills is in a marginal government seat. No, the minister made it clear his only motivation was to protect the parrot. That's parrot singular, not plural, because Senator Campbell said the Bald Hills project could kill one parrot a year.

On Friday night, the minister was holding the line, telling ABC TV's Latelinethat with only 50 breeding pairs left, all orange-bellied parrots were precious. It is hard to imagine deeper green credentials for any environment minister but the trouble is, rumours of the parrot's demise seem greatly exaggerated. As The Weekend Australian reported, the consultant's report Senator Campbell made much of was not rock-solid certain that the wind farms would reduce the parrot population. And the minister's own mandarins warned protecting the parrot was an inadequate argument for knocking back the Bald Hills proposal.

In exercising his authority, there is no reason to doubt Senator Campbell has acted according to the letter of the law. Whether he has adequately exercised his judgment in balancing the competing needs of his complex portfolio is entirely another issue. Senator Campbell works hard to ensure everybody understands his passion for aspects of the environment. He has fought Japanese attempts to start commercial whaling with all the energy of a Greenpeace zealot.

And his passion for parrots is a matter of record. But there is more to being Environment Minister than promoting particular causes. From wind farms to water storage, pipelines to pulp mills, every new development inevitably upsets people who want their patch to stay the same. By acting to block the Gippsland project on the basis of less than overwhelming evidence, Senator Campbell has provided legions of nimby's with a strategy to stop any development.

There are already suggestions that increasing protection for the orange-bellied parrot could deter development of other wind farms. And if that does not work, people opposed to any development need only learn to whine louder than a wind turbine. That certainly seemed to do the trick in Denmark, Western Australia, earlier this year, when Senator Campbell blocked a wind farm approved by the state Government and which had also won federal funding. But because the locals did not like it, the project, in Liberal Wilson Tuckey's electorate, did not get the tick from Senator Campbell.

And not a parrot in sight. It seems the minister is stronger on politics than policy. He can bang on about the importance of wind energy all he likes, but while he blocks proposals that upset some people or might - might - kill wildlife, his ability to handle the competing interests inherent in his portfolio will be suspect. On Lateline, Senator Campbell said the survival of the orangebellied parrot was not being taken seriously, with people making inappropriate allusions to Monty Python's famous dead Norwegian Blue.

It could be worse. At least nobody is suggesting transferring Senator Campbell to a post that may better suit him - say, Minister for Silly Walks.