WA Minister fails environment on wetlands
24 Aug 2006
Western Australian Minister for the Environment Mark McGowan has failed in his role of protecting the region's valuable wetlands by reneging on his government's election commitment to implement a revised Swan Coastal Plain Wetlands Environmental Protection Policy (EPP).
"The proposed Swan Coastal Plain Wetlands EPP is vitally needed to ensure the protection of high conservation value wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain," said James Duggie, Water Conservation Officer at WWF-Australia.
"We are very disappointed that the WA Government and the Minister for the Environment has not followed through with commitments to implement it," he said.
"The wetlands are hotpots for biodiversity and provide important habitat for native animals. They also help keep our river and groundwater clean. Unfortunately at least 80 per cent of the wetlands existing on the Swan Coastal Plain before European settlement have already been cleared, filled or developed."
The proposed wetland EPP was the result of a seven year review process that involved rigorous consultation, including two public comment periods and an additional independent Regulatory Committee Review. This was pursued after recognition by both the current ALP State government and the previous Coalition government of the need for stronger wetland protection.
The Minister's claim that the raft of existing protections for wetlands is robust and comprehensive is clearly wrong, as the Minister's own words from June this year demonstrate. When releasing the Draft State of the Environment Report Western Australia 2006 for public comment in June he noted: "we are losing wetlands at the rate of two football ovals a day".
The State Government's own report stated that only 13 per cent of remaining wetlands were in good condition on the Swan Coastal Plain and said wetland vegetation on the Swan Coastal Plain had decreased by about 1500 hectares a year between 1996 and 2004.
"Clearly the existing mechanisms are failing to protect our wetlands adequately," Mr Duggie said.
"We need the proposed Swan Coastal Plain Wetlands EPP to be implemented to provide more effective protection for these wetlands that have been identified as having the highest conservation value of those wetlands still remaining.
"We call on the Minister for the Environment and the Western Australian Government to reconsider the decision, and fulfill their election commitment made at two consecutive state elections to implement the revised draft Swan Coastal Plain Wetlands EPP."
Find out more
James Duggie, Water Conservation Officer, WWF-Australia
Phone: 08 9442 1206
Mobile: 0410 221 410
