Wind farm only one parrot threat

The Australian, Page: 3
Monday, 8 May 2006

STORMS, disease, habitat loss, weeds, foxes, feral cats and the house mouse are rated above wind farms as threats to the orange-bellied parrot, a report prepared for the Defence Department reveals. Despite federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell blocking a Victorian wind farm because of the perceived threat to the parrot, the report also rates rabbits and finches above wind farms. The Defence Department report, obtained by The Australian under Freedom of Information laws, puts wind energy at No 6 on the list of 10 threats to the bird's survival. The department commissioned consultants to review a draft federal orange-bellied parrot plan and assess implications for land and water managed by the department.

The parrot has been recorded at three defence sites in Victoria and one in NSW. Identifying 10 major threats to the parrot's survival, the report lists the No 1 threat as factors associated with the bird's small breeding population. They include ''disease, loss of genetic variation, storms during migration and wildfire''. The second-listed threat is habitat loss, which is described as ''industrial and urban development, land clearance for agriculture, grazing, recreational activities and decline in fire frequency''.

The next threats are ''invasive weeds'', predators such as the European fox and feral cat and competitors such as the rabbit, goldfinch, greenfinch and house mouse. The report lists ''wind energy developments within the (parrot's) migratory routes'' at No 6, above illuminated boats and structures in Bass Strait. A spokesman for Senator Campbell said the Defence Department report backed up evidence that wind farms were a threat to the parrot. ''This report is an example of the commonwealth Government putting in place the best measures it can to protect threatened species, '' he said.

Senator Campbell has continued to defend the blocking of the $220 million Victorian wind farm, seizing on the parrot's appearance on the World Conservation Union's Red List of Endangered Species for this year. The parrot was among 65 Australian species identified as critically endangered. Senator Campbell says the parrot ranks alongside the Siberian tiger and Chinese pandas as ''the most vulnerable species on the planet''. The minister has released a discussion paper on his proposed national code for wind farms and wants the code discussed when he meets state and territory environment ministers next month.

The paper says the code could become a ''mandatory system'' requiring federal or state legislation if a voluntary approach could not be agreed. According to Senator Campbell, a key element of the code would be to take into account community views when wind farms are proposed.