MATTERS OF URGENCY

Senator DAVID POCOCK (Australian Capital Territory—Independent ACT Whip) (17:56): I seek leave to amend the motion. Leave granted. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: With the concurrence of the Senate, the Clerks will set the clock in line with the informal arrangements made by the whips.

Senator DAVID POCOCK: I amend the motion in the terms circulated in the chamber and I move: That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency: the need for increased investment to protect Australia's landscapes and wildlife from invasive species, which cost around $25 billion a year and are driving native species towards extinction. With bird flu spreading around the country, the Environment Minister has said managing threats like weeds, feral cats, foxes and pigs is 'more important than ever'.

The government must fully fund a long-term plan for management, research and eradication. Just this morning, we heard that fire ants, one of the worst invasive species on the planet, have been detected at a logistics hub in Sydney's inner west. If they spread, they'll cost an estimated $2 billion a year and threaten human health and wildlife.

This would be just the latest in a long history of invasive species doing huge damage to this incredible continent. For tens of thousands of years, First Nations people cared for this continent across thousands of generations, and we have to face up to the fact that, over just 230 years, we have one of the worst records of mammal extinction in the world. We are a wealthy country that can do something about that.

We have Australians who love this place, who want to see nature protected. We've got farmers who want to play their part. What we need are coordination from all levels of government and long-term planning.

Invasive species is not something that you can throw some money at for five years and at the end of a program say what a great success it was and move on to the next thing. We need sustained funding and effort in this space. At the turn of the century, 21 Australian mammals were thought to be extinct.

Today that number is 43—more than double. Invasive species like cats, foxes and rats have likely been the main cause of more than 90 per cent of those extinctions, and 267 invasive species now affect 82 per cent of Australia's threatened species. There are a lot of numbers that get thrown around when we talk about invasive species, but I think we need to remember what's at stake here: the places we love, the species that have evolved here over millions of years and have just as much right to be here as we do.

The damage goes well beyond extinction. Introduced species are making Australia look more like everywhere else. This hollowing out, this removal of so much biodiversity from our landscape, is a tragedy.

We're seeing buffelgrass fires killing river red gums in central Australia, and we've got 200 million carp, which are now 90 per cent of the fish biomass in parts of the Murray-Darling Basin. Yet I don't think, from what I've seen, we've had the political will to tackle this. This is not the environment that I think we want our kids to experience.

We can and must do something about this. It's bad, and we're hearing from experts that it could get worse. We've got bird flu here in Australia now.

This poses a new and significant threat, and it really hammers home just how important it is to get on top of things like cats and foxes, to be doing more on islands. There's a huge opportunity in Australia to be working on the eradication of cats, foxes, mice, rats and rabbits on islands and creating safe havens, just as we've seen on the mainland with groups like Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Bush Heritage and many others making very important contributions to conservation through fenced-area conservation efforts.

The cost is huge. We all pay for it. Australia suffers the cost of invasive species to the tune of $25 billion every year.

I think this is something that should be a rallying call to politicians, to be working with groups that are already working on this—to be working with farmers, to be working with hunters, to be working with everyone who actually wants to get involved in turning this around and going in a direction that has more biodiversity, more life in our landscapes, and connects people to the places that they live.

It's a huge opportunity. I would urge the Senate to send a message to the government that this is important for us and our country. The Senate transcript was published up to 18:01.

The remainder of the transcript will be published progressively as it is completed.