Northern Victoria Region
Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (12:45): (82) My question is for the Minister for Environment. It is estimated that upwards of 400 endangered southern greater gliders will perish during the imminent planned burns in the Strathbogie State Forest. This forest provides a crucial habitat to the glider, whose overall population has declined 80 per cent over the last 20 years. Seventy-four per cent of the Strathbogie Ranges have already been cleared since European colonisation, and planned burns by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action are set to wipe out over 1300 hectares of crucial habitat this year alone. The glider was declared endangered under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act on 5 July 2022, yet DEECA has significantly increased the size of this burn without consideration. Expert ecologists from Save Our Strathbogie Forest and Euroa Environment Group oppose this burn due to its scale, based on years of their own data and research. My constituents want to know if the minister will reconsider the imminent burning of hundreds of endangered animals in the Strathbogie State Forest.